Want To Kill Someone And Guarantee A Lenient Sentence, But Can't Drive?

Don't despair! Just get a fighting breed dog! 

The owner of an XL bully dog which chased and killed a man has been jailed for three years. Ian Langley, 54, was mauled in Shiney Row, near Sunderland, on 3 October 2023, and died in hospital from "catastrophic" neck injuries.

No, it didn't do so off its own initiative. It was set on the victim:

Shortly before 19:00 BST on 3 October 2023, Mr Langley, who came from Liverpool and was known in the area as "Scouse", threw a stone at Bell's Maple Terrace home and smashed a window, prosecutor Jolyon Perks said.

Bell ran out of the house and chased Mr Langley and his XL bully dogs Titan and Sapphire followed through the open front door, Mr Perks said.

Titan overtook Bell and, after about 330ft (100m), dragged Mr Langley to the floor and clamped its jaws around Mr Langley's neck, the court heard.

If he'd run out of his kitchen with a knife and cut the man's throat, or with his car keys and run the victim down, would he have got such a paltry sentence? 

Given he has 32 convictions for 69 offences on his record, shouldn't that count towards him being banged up for longer? 

The dog "firmly resisted" all attempts to pull it away, Mr Perks said, and Mr Langley suffered "catastrophic injuries". Bell was eventually able to remove Titan and took him home before returning to Mr Langley's side and calling 999.

Armed police killed Titan at the scene, with Sapphire also later put down, the court heard. When officers arrived, Bell, now of De La Pole Avenue in Hull, told them to "just kill" the dogs, Mr Perks said.

It's great when the police dispose of the murder weapon for you aheead of a trial, isn't it?

The court heard Titan had savaged the leg of a Yorkshire terrier after escaping from Bell's home in July 2022, with Bell asking people for a lighter so he could try and burn his pet's nose to get it to release the other dog. In June 2023, both Titan and Sapphire got out and attacked another dog for up to 10 minutes, with the ordeal ending after Bell threw water over them.

And of course, because it was considered just 'dog on dog' and not an indicator of future issues, nothing was done. What a pity Mr Bell's grieving relatives can't sue the police for that. 

Bell was was also disqualified from having custody of a dog indefinitely.

Which might mean something, if only there was any mechanism in place to check.