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Lenient sentence appropriate in this case?

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  • September 23, 2024 at 4:09 pm #32966
    Cycle Happy

    Driver killed cyclist attempting ‘reckless’ overtake

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd6q5w9l1q8o

    9 month prison sentence suspended for 2 years. So no prison sentence. Driving ban of 10 years. Plus the driver initially denied the offence. Seems very lenient to me except that the offender is 76 years old. So the driving ban is statistically not far off being a lifelong ban and what would prison time achieve?
    I feel that whilst there would be no rehabilitation or offender behaviour adjustment achieved by time in prison, it would still have served as a deterrent to others. And what about punishment? This person has killed another through a criminal act. Regardless of the purpose of prison within the “justice” system, surely it should still have been applied in this case?

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  • September 23, 2024 at 5:50 pm #1023995
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    Rendel Harris

    Quote:

     I hope the Cressey family forgive me but I can’t help but think that if he was sitting beside me now and I asked him ‘Henry, what do I do with this lady?’ I can’t imagine he would want me to send her to prison.

    That’s a very big assumption on the part of the judge. Henry, as a keen triathlete, would doubtless have experienced plenty of careless and dangerous driving around cyclists and might well have thought that examples should be made of drivers who kill. Both Henry’s wife and son made moving statements about their lost loved one in which they could have said if they believed he would have wished for clemency; as far as it’s reported they did not. I’m divided as to whether any purpose would be served imprisoning the culprit, probably leaning towards not, but for the judge to say “Oh I would have liked him and if he were here he’d tell me he didn’t want her to go to prison” and to use that as grounds for clemency without any indication from the family that this would be the victim’s wish is disgraceful.

    September 23, 2024 at 4:50 pm #1023993
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    Bungle_52

    More details here

    More details here

    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/henry-no-longer-touch-hug-29976845


    In sentencing Ryley, from West Bridgford, Judge Michael Auty KC handed down a nine-month jail term, suspended for two years, noting: “One of the wretched features of cases like this is that the emphasis is almost inevitably on the defendant and not the victim and I have long felt this emphasis is wrong.

    “I think if I had met him, in fact I know if I had met him, I would have liked him and his widow has painted a picture of a highly intelligent, gifted, capable, beloved and much-loved man who brought joy and happiness not just to his wife and two sons but to the lives of countless others. I hope the Cressey family forgive me but I can’t help but think that if he was sitting beside me now and I asked him ‘Henry, what do I do with this lady?’ I can’t imagine he would want me to send her to prison. That is why the Cressey family feel the enormity of his loss so much.”

    The defendant, a former civil servant with a 25-year tenure and resident of Gresham Close, had previously admitted to causing death through careless driving. She has no prior convictions and has experienced personal loss, including the death of her husband and one of her sons, according to her barrister, John Dye.

    He stated: “It is impossible not to be moved by what we have just heard (in the impact statements) but this is a woman who has also suffered demonstrably in terms of her physical and mental health. She made a catastrophic error of judgement, she never wants to drive again and voluntarily handed her licence in.” In addition to the suspended sentence, the judge imposed a 10-year driving ban on Ryley, effectively ensuring that “she will never drive again”.

    These are the justifications for the sentence but, as you rightly point out, the effectiveness of the deterrent to other drivers has not been mentioned. It will also be interesting to see if she reapplies for a licence. Please forgive my scepticism.

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