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Father who killed son gets 2 years suspended sentence
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
I really dont know how I feel about this case, the kid did have a terminal illness and the father mental illness brought on from his experiences in the SAS.
And I agree with the judge that sending him to jail would solve nothing.
But two years suspended sentence for killing your son?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4350153.stm
And I agree with the judge that sending him to jail would solve nothing.
But two years suspended sentence for killing your son?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4350153.stm
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
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Its tragic but I see why the dad would, prison wouldn't solve anything.
I think he should get some counselling though.
That's certainly the message it gives out, if someone close to you is terminally ill or just really sick then its alright to 'ease their suffering'.
But, should judges sentence people based on the case or based on the public perception of the case?
I don't agree, but then we've covered that before.
The whole point about locking people up is to get them to feel remorse/punish them for what they have done/stop them from doing it again. If you already see that these things in place, it seems a bit sad to only lock them up as a warning to others.
Theres no justice in using the law only because it might be a warning.
A suspended sentence for manslaughter isn't all that uncommon, to be quite honest.
He wasn't convicted of murder, don't forget that. The jury acquitted him of murder, that's twelve members of the public.
I agree with Bongbudda and the others who say that sending the father to prison would have solved nothing. I guess I sympathise with the father who, under the mental stress that he had after years in the SAS during which time, I'm willing to bet, he must have seen and done some pretty fucked up things, saw his terminally ill son and maybe, in some bizarre logic, wanted the best for him and thus ended his life a little more prematurely than was going to happen.
I guess the judge has done the right thing - it must be the kind of case they dread having to preside over.
It seems the judge and jury went with the defence.
Now I believe that 'mercy' killings should be illegal (and certainly by a member of the family). But (and it may be hypocrisy) that they should not be punished too severely. his past record as a member of the SAS is irrelevant.