Friday, January 6, 2012

(Another) compare and contrast

What price on a human life? Well if you followed the Lawrence trial it's in the region of 14 years, although apparently this is only if you are a juvenile at the time and apparently the Attorney General is going to have a look at that as being unduly lenient. So what would you say should have been the result of a gang attacking an innocent bystander...
Mirfield Reporter.
A MAN has been jailed for killing a man in a street attack.
Mohammed Nazakat Alam was today sent to prison for 21 months for the manslaughter of Jack Carter in August 2011.
Co-accused, Nisar Shah, formerly of Victoria Road, was given a six month jail term suspended for two years and 120 hours unpaid work for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Leeds Crown Court heard how the attack took place shortly after Mr Carter, 39, and his girlfriend, Melanie Boocock, left a friend’s house in Victoria Road, Thornhill Lees, on Sunday August 28.
Prosecutor Christopher Tehrani said Ms Boocock hurled racist abuse at local resident Junaid Azad as they left the house.
Another man, Basharat Hussain, told her to shut up and she threw a punch at him.
Mr Azad stepped in, followed by a group of Asian men who were stood nearby.
One of the group, Alam, then punched Mr Carter who had been watching.
Shah then came out of his house and stood on Mr Carter’s head, but he stayed with Mr Carter until paramedics arrived.
Mr Carter, of Bretton Street, Savile Town, was taken to Dewsbury and District Hospital with serious head injuries and died three days later.
Alam, 25, of Beckett Lane, Dewsbury Moor, was originally charged with murder but that was dropped when he admitted manslaughter last month.
Yep, that's right, 21 months for attacking a man who whilst he has a gobby (racist alledgedly) girlfriend was not involved or being provocative in any way, at least according to this report. But because Azad was full of remorse and admitted manslaughter plus stayed with Jack carter after he stood on his head he only got 21 months.
Passing sentence, The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, said Mr Carter’s family had been ‘devastated’ by his death.
He said he accepted that Alam was ‘full of sorrow and remorse’ because of the effect his actions.
He told Shah: “Immediately after your assault, you tried to assist and attend to the man who lay clearly injured on the floor.”
Yes, I'm sure that makes it ok, after all he'd been subjected to racist abuse before the violence...
Hang on, no he wasn't he just launched an attack on Carter who hadn't actually done anything and it was Junaid Azad who was being verbally abused and Basharat Hussain who was physically attacked by the woman.
Makes you wonder what else would get you 21 months...
Herts and Essex Observer.
A RACIST from Great Hallingbury who attacked a supermarket security officer will spend Christmas behind bars after being jailed for 21 months.
Serial offender Ben Horton, 22, of Copthall, had gone to Sainsbury’s in Harlow on August 16 to try to steal some wine before the fracas began.
Horton, who pleaded guilty to attempted theft, racially aggravated assault, assaulting police and breaching bail, was spotted by security officer Mohammed Raza, who was then racially abused, punched and spat at.
During a struggle on the ground as Mr Raza tried to calm him down, he then bit him, leaving an inch-long wound on his arm.
After police arrived and tried to get him out of the store, Horton spat blood at them and dug his nails into one officer. When he was later interviewed he denied being a racist.
Ben Hargreaves, mitigating, said Horton was a long-term drug user who had left home aged 15 and had since lived “from place to place without the support of his family”. He added that he also had an alcohol problem.
So, attacking a security guard and some police but not actually killing anyone will also get you 21 months, of course he's a serial offender so I guess that makes up for it, couldn't possibly be any other reason now could there?
 You know like someone being treat differently due to religion or race, but no, that's just being silly, we're all supposed to be dealt with impartially and had Horton shown remorse and attempted to apologise he'd now be up for a knighthood..
Still, I'm sure it's all down to circumstances, I can't believe for one second that it might just be anything else.

3 annotations:

Mark Wadsworth said...

All very depressing. Especially as the first story was clearly a gang of Pakistanis out looking for trouble, it's quite possible that the racist girlfriend was merely responding to deliberately threatening behaviour on the part of the gang.

Weekend Yachtsman said...

"...because Azad was full of remorse and admitted manslaughter..."

No, nothing to do with that.

It was because he was able to play a trump card by belonging to the Religion of Peace.

JuliaM said...

"...because Azad was full of remorse..."

As his lawyer told him to say...