Killer’s sentence ‘was too long’

[Jazzy]

Teacher killer’s sentence ‘was too long’, says justice campaigner.

A youth justice campaigner has described a 20-year prison sentence given to a teacher killer as ‘too harsh’

Will Cornick will serve at least 20 years for killing Ann Maguire, 61, who was stabbed seven times from behind as she taught a Spanish class at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds in April.

Mr Justice Coulson warned Cornick, who was 15 at the time, that he might never be released from prison as he passed sentence at Leeds Crown Court.

In his impact statement, Mrs Maguire’s widower, Don, described the killing as a ‘monumental act of cowardice and evil’ and said: ‘The callous cruelty displayed defies comprehension.’

But Penelope Gibbs, who chairs the Standing Committee for Youth Justice (SCYJ) umbrella group of charities and campaign groups, said the sentence was too long.

She told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: ‘We are out of line with the whole of western Europe. There are no other countries within western Europe which give children – and this boy is seen as a child under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and is in the youth justice system – a life sentence.’

Ms Gibbs accepted that the sentence had to serve as a punishment, but said there was ‘no evidence’ for the 20-year minimum tariff.

‘Punishment is also incredibly important, particularly for the victims and families, but the fact is, how many years do we need for punishment? We have given him a sentence which is more than his own lifetime,’ she said.

‘He was 15 when he did this crime and we would say that you don’t need that long to punish.

Do you think the sentence was too harsh?

 

[Sinon]

Fuck the UN, and fuck the EU. We're already being forced into so many bullshit things, without these bleeding hearts whining because we're treating murderers like bad people.

You know the UK isn't allowed to give life without parole sentences anymore? It's against their human rights, apparently. Ignoring the fact that if your crime warrants life without parole you've probably taken away the human rights of plenty of people...

 

[Dee]

Honestly? It depends. If he's going straight to prison without any intervention for his quite obviously glaring issues, and he doesn't receive rehabilitation, then no I don't think 20 years is too long. In any case, he is a little young, and at 15--if I had murdered someone--I don't think I would truly get the full repercussions of my actions. You'd think a 15-year-old would, but that's an entirely different ball park in terms of the psychology of an adolescent.

 

[DrLeftover]

Well good, when he gets out of prison he should be moved onto the same block as Miss Gibbs.

If she lives in an apartment, see if the unit across the hall is vacant.