Excuses, Excuses….

Following on from the revelation that a 'homophobic' word merits you an extra year in jail compared to the thug who threw the actual punch, it seems the local newspaper is going to bat for the real victims in the case:

For Joel Alexander, the punch which killed Ian Baynham was also a devastating blow to his own life.

Before he threw the punch which ended the life of 62-year-old Mr Baynham, Alexander was by all accounts considered a decent young man from a loving family who had a bright future ahead, with a place at the University of East London awaiting him.

Shows just how wrong everyone can be, then, doesn't it?

Kerim Fuad, representing Alexander, told the court he had only punched Mr Baynham to defend Thomas, and “could not have thought or envisaged for a moment the quite catastrophic consequences that followed that punch”.

Oh, such a gentleman...

Mr Fuad added that Alexander had repeatedly expressed his remorse for the death of Mr Baynham, and had suffered sleepless nights since the incident.

Alexander’s anguish and remorse will do little to comfort the friends and family of Mr Baynham, but it could be evidence that the 20-year-old from Thornton Heath is not the cold blooded killer many believe him to be.

And it could be evidence that the defence was using the oldest trick in the book to get leniency for a client caught bang to rights.

Who writes these columns, Ken Clarke?

As Ruby Thomas was jailed for the manslaughter of Ian Baynham yesterday, the emerging details of her background painted a much bleaker picture of her childhood than her title of former public schoolgirl would suggest.

So what? Lots of people have 'bleak childhoods' yet don't end up drunken aggressive sluts.

During the sentencing at the Old Bailey, Thomas’ lawyer Christopher Sallon QC read out a letter to the court from her mother which described an abusive father who had wreaked havoc on their lives. When Thomas was aged 11 her father was arrested for murder and then convicted of manslaughter at the Old Bailey.

In 2006, after being released from prison, her father was arrested again for threatening to kill someone, and was then locked up in a mental hospital.

Hmmm, something's springing to mind, here. Begins with 'L...' and ends in '..ike father, like daughter'...

Of course, none of this makes up for what she did to 62-year-old Ian Baynham in Trafalgar Square, but it does show Thomas is more than just a former public schoolgirl with a vicious, homophobic streak.

No. Actually, it doesn't.