ONLY ONE YEAR FOR A FATAL BASEBALL BAT ATTACK!

Strange justice in the Australian State of Victoria again

Two brothers whose frail 61-year-old victim died after they attacked him with a baseball bat as he waited for a tram on a busy street have been jailed.

Ali Duran, who had suffered several strokes and used a walking stick, was standing at a Sydney Rd, Coburg, intersection when the pair saw him, pulled their car over in front of traffic and attacked in daylight in February last year.

Altaman and Asim Selcuk were deemed not to have been legally responsible for killing Mr Duran because he had existing health problems and doctors couldn't say for certain how the assault -- which left him with fractures, head injuries and severe bruising -- contributed to his death five days later.

The Supreme Court heard Mr Duran was their uncle but Altaman Selcuk, who had been married to Mr Duran's daughter, held a grudge over his marriage break-up and sought the older man out on the day of the attack. Asim Selcuk, 25, was driving his brother as they looked for Mr Duran but did not take part in the bashing. But he did nothing to help the injured man as he cowered bleeding by the road in front of horrified pedestrians, the court heard. He then helped his brother flee and both concocted a false story for police claiming Mr Duran had pulled a knife and they had to defend themselves.

Altaman Selcuk, 34, pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury and affray, while his brother was found guilty by a jury of intentionally causing serious injury. Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said she could not sentence the pair over Mr Duran's death, but could understand why his wife and six children blamed them for it. She said the attack not only traumatised relatives but left those who witnessed it in shock, with one likening it to a scene from a war zone. Yesterday she sentenced Asim Selcuk, of Flemington, to three years' jail with a minimum of one year, having earlier sentenced Altaman Selcuk, of Brunswick, to 6 1/2 years' jail with a minimum of four.

Report here

More on Victorian "justice:

A bank worker who stole $7.3m and blew more than $2600 an hour on pokies has been jailed for a minimum of four years - about the same for some child killers. Victims' and children's groups say Kate Leanne Jamieson's sentence was appropriate but highlighted anomalies in the justice system. Last week, David Scott Arney, 25, was sentenced to a minimum five years over the death of his daughter Rachael, who was repeatedly punched in the stomach.

The Herald Sun has identified 12 cases in the past decade where people charged with murdering children were allowed to cut deals and plead guilty to manslaughter, getting away with minimum sentences as low as three years in the Supreme Court. Australian Childhood Foundation CEO Joe Tucci said jail terms for child killers had to increase. He said Jamieson's sentence was a striking contrast to the average sentence for child killers. "It shows that the sentence structure is all wrong - that we have reduced acts of unbelievable cruelty and violence towards children to being equitable with other lesser crimes," Mr Tucci said. "It's not just the death, it's the torture and killing of a child, which should be seen as one of the most serious crimes in the community." Four of the 12 child killers convicted of manslaughter in the past 10 years received the same or lower minimum sentences than Jamieson did. They include:

JEFFREY Phillip Thompson, 22, who threw his six-month-old son Jordan, stuffed his mouth with a bib and put his head under water. In 2004 he was sentenced to 5 1/2 years with a minimum of three years.

STEWART Thomas Clay, 35, who was sentenced to six years' jail with a minimum of three years in 2003 for killing son Zachary. The three-week-old suffered skull fractures.

ROSA Maria Richards, 41, and her then de facto husband Lindsay Gregory, 38, who were charged over the death of Ms Richards' son Dillion Palfrey, 20 months, from a brain haemorrhage in May, 1995. Richards violently shook the toddler after Gregory had hit him across the face. Dillion hit his head on the floor and convulsed. Richards' sentence was reduced on appeal to five years with a 3 1/2 minimum. Gregory, who pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury, was given five years with a non-parole period of three.

MARK Mietto, 31, who was sentenced to six years with a minimum of four in 2002. He smashed in the skull of his girlfriend's son Jonathan Guiver, 3.

Report here

December 2009 update

I have received a number of abrupt emails from a "Natalie Angove" [nangove@ausmed.com.au] about the above postings. She wants them deleted. She has refused to say why, however, and my enquiries about her reasons have not produced any rationale other than a claim that they are inaccurate in some unspecified way. I do not even know which of the above postings she is steamed up about. Her most recent email in reply to my enquiries simply said: "Listen here what part don’t you understand remove article or I will commence legal proceedings"

In the circumstances, the post will remain until she discovers some manners. My provisional impression is that the lady is not quite sane.




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