Monday 29 June 2020

Rewarding Failure...

The armed attacker who tried to rob watches worth £200,000 from two Arsenal football players has had his jail sentence cut from ten years to six.
Oh? Was a legal error made? Does he have a sob story sufficient to move the appeal judges?
Smith's barrister, Susan Meek, argued that Smith's sentence was excessive and that there had been no consideration for the fact that the robbery was an attempted one.
*blinks*
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said that the crown court judge did not take enough account of sentencing guidelines and the court ruled that his sentence be reduced.
So because he's an incompetent criminal and didn't get away with the goods he deserves leniency?
Smith, who was out on licence for a 42-month sentence for burglary in 2017 when he tried to carry out the street robbery, pleaded guilty to the attempted robbery at Harrow Crown Court last October.
Smith was described by sentencing judge Ian Bourne QC as a prolific 'career criminal' who was well known to police.
Well, maybe he'll change his ways now. And won't target members of the judiciary to prove it. Wouldn't that be something?

6 comments:

MTG said...

Crikey...those overpaid teams of green form lawyers have serious financial obligations to meet! Second and third homes in Monaco require significant funding...which in turn depends on the liberty of career criminals and a rolling programme of their state-funded defences. What's that...Smith should be out any day now? No worries then.

Stonyground said...

Surely the length of the sentence will make little difference. If he commits another crime as soon as he is released he will just get banged up again anyway.

APL said...

There is a scene in one of the episodes of the TV show "The Simpsons" where Sideshow Bob is on a prison phone complaining of being convicted of the attempted murder of Bart Simpson and says: “I am presently incarcerated, imprisoned for a crime I did not even commit. Attempted murder? Now honestly what is that? Can you win a Nobel Prize for attempted chemistry?”.

I'm wondering if Smith's trial was like that.

jannerfish said...

That crime might be a knife in some poor bugger. Best keep him in there.

Unknown said...

Stonyground said: "Surely the length of the sentence will make little difference."

Er... the original length of the sentence protected the public from a violent criminal for an extra three years.

MC

JuliaM said...

"...depends on the liberty of career criminals and a rolling programme of their state-funded defences."

Whatever happened to the modern Tories and their claims to halt the legal aid gravy train?

"If he commits another crime as soon as he is released he will just get banged up again anyway."

If he's caught...

"I'm wondering if Smith's trial was like that."

Well, it was a comedy, all right. But I fear the joke's on us.