Laura Hope was emotionless in the dock at court when she received her sentence for causing the death of John Hevey, 61, in a horrific crash on Eastern Avenue in Southend on May 21 last year.
The 28-year-old was driving her partner’s BMW along the road. She had 2.9 micrograms of cannabis in her system at the time – over the legal drug driving limit – when she approached a roundabout.
She pulled out into the roundabout but failed to check for oncoming vehicles and ended up hitting Mr Hevey as he drove around.An utterly avoidable death.
In a victim impact statement, his daughter Yasmine Hevey said her father had been “robbed” of his life, and that he will “leave a hole that no one will be able to fill”.Her brief tried the 'plead her belly' trick:
Mitigating for Hope, Michael Rawlinson said she was remorseful for her actions and that she “will live with them for the rest of her life” and argued that her sentence should be suspended due to the fact that she has a six month old daughter to which she is the sole carer for, and that an immediate prison sentence would do serious damage to her upbringing.But at least she wasn't up before Judge 'Lenient' Leigh. This was another Samantha.
Sentencing Hope, of Coleman Street, Southend, Judge Samantha Cohen said that Mr Hevey’s death had a “devastating” impact on his family but chose to suspend her sentence due to the effects it would have on her daughter.
Hope received 18 months in prison suspended for two years, 300 hours unpaid work, and a curfew for four months meaning she cannot leave her home between 8pm and 6am./facepalm
Still, if she had a clean reco..
Oh.
A woman viciously assaulted her ex-partner and his new girlfriend, a court heard. Laura Hope, 27, of Dolphins, Westcliff, launched a prolonged attack on the couple who were forced to seek refuge in a shop where the attack continued.
Hope denied two counts of assault, but was later found guilty after a trial at Basildon Crown Court and appeared at the same court to be sentenced, despite insisting she was not guilty.
Judge Graham handed her a 12-month community order. The order requires her to complete 20 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement with probation and 60 hours of unpaid work.There's no hope for justice any more, is there?
"....she has a 6 month old daughter.....".
ReplyDeleteSo, social services are quite happy for a defenceless child to be cared for by a drug taking, woman who seems incapable of keeping her temper in check. In a perfect world, this female thug would not be the only one in court. Another baby P?
Penseivat
He ain't Hevey, he's my ....
ReplyDeleteThis sort of case makes one weep with frustration. Surely there is a case for the bereaved family making a claim against the BMW's insurers of such a magnitude that the perp and her partner never get insured again at reasonable rates.
Half the problem (OK, not half, but part of it) is that she was driving a BMW. We all know that means that her partner was a complete tosser. An even worse tosser letting a moron like this drive it. Doesn't that make him an accessory before the fact?
I'm still scratching my head over there being a "legal limit" for an illegal substance.
ReplyDelete“despite insisting she was not guilty.”
ReplyDeleteYou’d think that would have been enough for acquittal.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense to have a low but non zero limit because things are now detectable at such tiny concentrations that you could otherwise, for example , be done for drug driving having smelt a whiff of someone else's joint, or for drunk driving because you had a not quite fresh orange juice or portion of kimchee this morning.
Absolute zero tolerance leads to insanities like the people in jail in Dubai because there was a poppy seed on their shirt from a bagel consumed at Heathrow, or a microgram fragment of ganja-smelling Rizla on their shoe that they trod in in Ethiopia. Both real cases those.
"So, social services are quite happy for a defenceless child to be cared for by a drug taking, woman who seems incapable of keeping her temper in check."
ReplyDeleteYou sound surprised... :(
"Surely there is a case for the bereaved family making a claim against the BMW's insurers of such a magnitude that the perp and her partner never get insured again at reasonable rates."
That'll just put up insurance for everyone else! My preference is to crush the car.
With the perp and her sperm donor inside it.
"...things are now detectable at such tiny concentrations that you could otherwise, for example , be done for drug driving having smelt a whiff of someone else's joint..."
Good point! I just took a walk to pick up a paper and must have passed several aromatic chaps. A test for cannabis the minute I got back might well show I'm a 'user'...