Posted on 10/17/2002 7:27:03 AM PDT by SWO
A man who stabbed to death a burglar he found in his family's home has been jailed for five years.
Barry-Lee Hastings, 25, stabbed Roger Williams, 35, a total of 12 times after mistaking a crowbar in his hand for a machete. But Old Bailey Judge Brian Barker told Hastings that he had gone too far and his actions were not justified.
Hastings, of Wood Green, north London, was found guilty of manslaughter last month and remanded for reports. His family shouted "This country stinks" as he was led away and said later they would appeal.
They were backed by supporters of farmer Tony Martin who was jailed for shooting dead a burglar.
Judge Barker told Hastings he had repeatedly stabbed Mr Williams in the back, the majority of the attack taking place outside the house when the possibility of danger was over.
He said: "What you did could not possibly have been done while you were still under threat. You had gone into the attack and you were engaged in retaliation.
"Although Roger Williams was a burglar and had no right to be there, a householder is not entitled to use more than reasonable force to defend himself. His presence did not justify the actions you took.
"No one can fail to have sympathy for a householder or visitor who without warning found himself in the position you did when you reached the front door."
I suppose a crowbar is a little less dangerous than a machete, but it could still easily become a lethal weapon and I would prefer to have something better than a knife to go against the guy holding the crowbar.
My policy is to not arm myself with a video camera if someone is burglarizing my home, but to arm myself with a mechanism that will be the final judgement for the unfortunate criminal.
England is destined for complete collapse at the hands of barbarians.
An Englishman, Irishman and a Scotsman are all playing golf with their wives.
The Englishman's wife steps up to the tee and as she bends over to place her ball a gust of wind reveals her lack of lingerie. "Good God! Why aren't you wearing any?" her husband demanded. "Well, you don't give me enough housekeeping money to afford to buy any.'' The Englishman immediately reaches into his pocket and says, "For the sake of decency here's 20 quid, go and buy some."
Next the Irishman's wife bends over to set her ball on the tee, a gust of wind revealing her lack of lingerie. "Why!" he exclaimed. She replies, "I can't afford any on the money you give me." He reaches into his pocket and says, "For the sake of decency here's 20 quid, go and buy some."
Lastly, the Scotsman's wife bends over. The wind also reveals her lack of lingerie. "Hoots mon woman! How could you forget it?" She too explains, "You don't give me enough housekeeping money to be able to afford any." The Scot reaches into his pocket and says, "For the sake of decency here's a comb, tidy yourself up a bit!"
This is sheer incompetence on the legal defense of Hastings. First you need to engage the enemy front or back to keep the advantage in combat. Never let your enemy get the advantage of higher ground or cover. If Williams was truly fleeing, he would have not been stabbed; he would have been running away and out of reach. Second, Williams had a crowbar in hand. As a club, a crowbar has the advantage of reach over a knife. Anyone with training in the use of martial arts sticks would likely prefer to use a crowbar over a knife.
I’ll bet the Old Bailey judge packs a hand gun for his protection.
There's a huge difference between the two. In hand-to-hand combat it's pretty hard to stab someone facing you when they are armed with a crowbar (or even another knife). Each of you will probably get hurt and if you're more skilled you may win, but you'll probably still go to the hospital.
But I guess this judge thinks it's cowardly to stab someone that is armed with a crowbar in the back just to protect your family and property. Oh well, just one more place I won't ever visit.
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