Jamie Wilkinson was out celebrating the birth of his child when trouble flared in The Sea Lion pub in Anchor Terrace, Longton.
He initially acted as a peacemaker, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard yesterday.
Ah. We all know how some people
‘act as peacemaker’, don’t we?
But as the complainant, Robert Foster, intervened in a bid to prevent any further disorder, he approached Wilkinson from behind and pulled him backwards.
Prosecutor David Bennett said: "They both fell to the floor. The defendant got on top and began punching him to his head and face in excess of 10 times. Towards the end of the assault the complainant lost consciousness and was lying motionless on the floor. The defendant got to his feet. But he then looked back towards the complainant and stamped on his head or face. He wasn't wearing a shoe because that had come off in the early part of the disturbance.
"He also punched him again to the head."
That really should be attracting a far higher charge (and therefore penalty) than it currently does, shouldn’t it?
Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, conceded the stamp was 'sickening' and added Wilkinson was lucky Mr Foster was not more seriously injured.
And presumably, Mr Foster was pretty lucky too?
But he said the defendant, who has no previous convictions, was not the instigator of the trouble.
He asked Judge Paul Glenn to give Wilkinson a chance and suspend any prison sentence.
And, amazingly, he did!
The judge sentenced the defendant to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, with 250 hours unpaid work and 12 months supervision. And he must pay £1,200 compensation, £800 costs and a £100 surcharge.
Lucky kid, eh, growing up with
this for a father and role model...?
So riding a motorbike fast while hurting no-one sends you to jail. Beating a man senseless does not.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that either of these is right, but that the discrepancy between punishment is insane.
As far as I'm concerned, anyone 'acting as peacemaker' should get a stiff prison term.
ReplyDeleteMy experience in pubs taught me that there is nothing worse, and nothing more likely to escalate a situation, than a pissed up moron trying to calm things down
I honestly think the authorities find pleb-on-pleb violence tiresome. They just don't care about it much.
ReplyDeleteOne thing is for sure, if you hammer a JP or a local politician, don't expect community service.
"...but that the discrepancy between punishment is insane."
ReplyDeleteQuite!
"..there is nothing worse, and nothing more likely to escalate a situation, than a pissed up moron trying to calm things down"
Given how often these words appear in newspaper articles, you may be on to something.
"One thing is for sure, if you hammer a JP or a local politician, don't expect community service."
They look after themselves... :/
XX Isn’t It Time This Kind Of Assault Was Considered Attempted Murder? XX
ReplyDeleteProve "Intent to kill."
THAT is the problem.
The fact that it MAY have killed them, would not stand up in court.
Even "Reasonably expected..." would not stand up, because, as with most of these cases, under influence of drink or drugs" takes away the "reasonable".