Only 24 years for what he did is ridiculous.
Posted on 08/19/2004 3:36:29 PM PDT by swilhelm73
FACE OF SADISTIC MURDERER
An undercover reporter for the BBC and Channel 4 has been jailed for 24 years for torturing a man to death.
James Raven, 44, beat, whipped and burned Brian Walters before attacking him with an industrial staple gun while the victim's family watched.
Raven, of Bolton, Greater Manchester, was found guilty of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.
Co-defendant John Wilson, 55, of Glossop, Derbyshire, was also sentenced to 24 years in jail after being found guilty of the same charges.
Chester Crown Court heard the attack happened in Tabley, Cheshire, last year.
Mr Waters, a drug dealer, was hung upside down and sexually assaulted with an iron bar, causing fatal internal injuries.
His adult daughter and son were tied up and ordered to watch as the "systematic and barbaric" assault continued.
Mr Justice Poole said the torture was "exceptionally" sadistic."The violence used was both gratuitous and extreme and was characterised by the humiliation and degradation of Brian Waters before he died," he said. Before that, he had undergone extremes of physical violence.
"Whatever your precise intention, no man could have survived those injuries and Brian Waters did not. With its overtones of greed, sadism and torture, this was a very serious case."
Heavily-tattooed Wilson had ordered the attack after falling out with Mr Waters over a debt, the court was told.
The trial was told that Raven and his cousin Christopher More, who is still wanted by police in connection with Mr Waters' death, earned up to £500 a day working on undercover assignments for the BBC and Channel 4.
Another man Ashley Guishard, 30, of Sale, Greater Manchester, was cleared of all charges.
The jury could not reach a verdict on Otis Matthews, 27, of Manchester, who had been charged with the same offences. He will now face a retrial.
Only 24 years for what he did is ridiculous.
And I can't even come up with something clever with respect to his working for the Beeb. Speechless.
24 years? Man, that will surely teach this guy not to murder in such a messy manner. </sarcasm
Only 24 years! I wonder what would have happened if they had done this stuff to a dog, probably life. These europeans really have their priorities all jacked up don't they.
Well I'm sorry, but I just can't believe that this fellow could have orchestrated this horrendous torture scheme on his own....
I think we need to launch a top to bottom investigation of the BBC.
Just remember - It isn't the nature of the evidence as much as the seriousness of the allegations........
What does 24 years really mean in England? Is it 24 years, or is there an almost inevitable early parole or time off for good behavior?
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