More Sick Justice in England

Post lifted and slightly modified from Alphecca

Let's see, real criminals are coddled by England's justice system and then there's this nonsense:

A mum-of-two who agreed to look after a gun for an ex-boyfriend has been jailed for five years.

[...]

Julius Capon, prosecuting, said police stopped Edwards on January 13 when she was driving home from taking her two children to school. He added: "They explained that they had information that she had a gun. She immediately volunteered that she had been asked to look after a weapon and she gave a name."

Officers went to her then home in Silverleigh Road, Thornton Heath, and she took them to an upstairs bedroom. Mr Capon told the hearing: "She pointed out a roll of green cloth, under which was a carrier bag containing a semi-automatic handgun wrapped in a white bandanna." It was in a poor state of repair, could not have been fired and no ammunition was discovered.

James Cartwright, defending, said an expert had described the gun as unusable. "For the first time in the history of English law a minimum sentence has been introduced and judges should look very closely at any circumstances which could be exceptional."

Judge Stow told Edwards, who admitted a charge of possession of the blank firing pisto: "The gun was not owned by you and was supplied to you by others who asked you to store it for them. It was in a poor state, with missing parts.

"You are not inherently a criminal person. You have been completely frank with the police right from the start and you pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, but I have come to the conclusion that none of these features either collectively or singly constitute exceptional circumstances."

Judge Stow ought to be hanged. We have a woman who really did nothing wrong except store a broken gun for a boyfriend -- poor judgement if you will. She complies with cops who somehow learned about it. She has no criminal record. And now her kids will be without her for five years.

This is the same diseased nation where a farmer, Tony Martin, was sentenced to life in prison for defending himself from criminals and where the surviving criminal did less than two years in prison despite having 30 prior convictions! From three years ago:

This case started (in 1999) when Tony Martin, a farmer in Great Britain used a shotgun (apparently unlicensed) to kill one of two burglars invading his home. The other, Brendon Fearon was shot in the leg. This, in sick twisted English law is a no-no. He was sentenced to life in prison for murder. Then, through various legal maneuvers by his lawyer, got the charges reduced last year to manslaughter. He has one more year to serve on his (reduced to five years) sentence. That's still obscene. We all shake our heads here in America (except in N.Y. and California) but this is how low the law has degenerated in England.

By the way, the surviving criminal, Fearon, only served 18 months for his part in the burglary. This despite the fact that he had 30 (thirty) prior convictions. He was then released but is now back in prison doing another 18 month stretch, this time for drug-dealing.

Now Fearon is suing the victim-farmer Martin for 15,000 pounds for damages received during the commission of the crime. And he's now receiving free legal aid to pursue this suit. The judge said that to deny Fearon, who has more than 30 convictions, the right to his claim could contravene his rights under Section 6 of the Human Rights Convention.

(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)