self defence gone "too far" ??-Update

[m24]

Vikram,

Every society has its share of rotten apples. These reports are probably a few of the ones in UK.

Regards

[Vikram]

You are quite right,M24.

[xl_target]

As a follow up the the article posted by the OP, here is an interesting comment by Senior police officials in the UK.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... elves.html

Chief Superintendent Ian Johnston, president of the Police Superintendents' Association, said: "We have failed on this for some time -- the balance between the rights of the offender and the rights of the victim is wrong.
"At the moment it looks as if we're more concerned about the burglar than we are about the householder. We would support anything that rectifies that balance."
He added: "One must remember that ultimately this should be sending a message to the bad guys that you should not be burgling people's homes. The law should cater for all circumstances, but currently it does not."

You think, Sherlock?


And then you have this guy (I'm trying very hard not to use abusive language here) :

However, Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, is still resisting calls for a new review. He said: "I made changes last year to tilt the law as far as possible in favour of the innocent householder or citizen's arrest. We had a lot of debate about this issue and I believe the law is now in a sensible place.

Apparently not, Mr Justice Secretary!

Keith Bristow, chief constable of Warwickshire and Association of Chief Police Officers spokesman, said: "Whether there needs to be a change to the law is for others to decide, but existing law enshrines the right of any citizen to defend themselves, others and their belongings with reasonable force.
"The law does not expect the public to make fine judgments in moments of fear and stress as to the level of force that is reasonable.
"However, the law does not allow people to deliver punishment outside the judicial process. The police have a duty to investigate the circumstances and present the evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service who decide whether the force used was justified in law. If it was, then no prosecution will result."

So apparently some of the powers that be still think it's OK to give the criminal a "Get out of Jail free" pass.

[hamiclar01]

Considering the measly 6 month sentence meted out to SPS Rathore for terrorising his victim's family, one is tempted to draw parallels between the inefficient Indian judiciary and the lenient British one.

Yet, living here, if such an atrocity would have been perpetrated on a young girl and her family by a serving police officer, I know that justice would have been swift, transparent and merciless.

With all the moaning on the U.K. legal system, it still is head and shoulders over mera bharat mahaan

[pandeymitul]

so what should he have done wait for the robbery to get over and the robber to flee? do you think he was discriminated?

[Virendra S Rathore]

Seems like the man is set free now :-
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/ ... ith-bat.do

[Vikram]

Virendra, I was just about to post the same.Thanks.Good to know that better sense prevailed and hope that the brother would also be released.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100120/tuk ... dbed5.html

Man Jailed For Attacking Intruder Is Freed
Wednesday, January 20 04:19 pm
© Sky News 2010
A man who was jailed for attacking a burglar with a cricket bat after his family were threatened at knife-point by intruders has been freed. Skip related content

Businessman Munir Hussain, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, saw his 30-month jail term reduced to a two-year suspended sentence by the Court of Appeal.

Hussain's 35-year-old brother Tokeer - who was also jailed for the attack - had his 39-month sentence cut to two years.

Following the ruling at London's High Court, Munir Hussain's son Awais said his family was "extremely grateful" to the judges for their decision.

"It will great to have my father home immediately and my thoughts are with my uncle, Tokeer Hussain, who will not be released yet," he said.

The brothers had been jailed after a court found them guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent following the burglary on September 3 2008.

Munir Hussain and his wife and children had returned from their local mosque during Ramadan to find men wearing balaclavas in their home.

He said he feared for their lives as their hands were tied behind their backs and they were forced to crawl from room to room.

After freeing himself he contacted Tokeer to help chase the offenders down the street in High Wycombe, bringing one to the ground.

The intruder, Walid Salem, 56, suffered permanent brain damage after he was struck with a cricket bat so hard it broke into three pieces.

The Hussain brothers denied being involved in that violence.

Salem's injuries meant he was not fit to plead after being charged with false imprisonment. He was given a two-year supervision order.

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal rejected a bid from Hussain to appeal his conviction.

But Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, and two other judges in London, said they would respond to a "call for mercy" from barristers representing the brothers, agreeing there was "ample justification" to free Munir Hussain and reduce Tokeer's sentence.

Lord Judge described the case as one of "true exceptionality", remarking that while Munir's sentence of two years was in itself "merciful", it would be suspended.

But he added: "This trial had nothing to do with the right of the householder to defend themselves or their families or their homes.

"The burglary was over and the burglars had gone. No one was in any further danger from them."

Awais Hussain described the intrusion and subsequent trial and imprisonment as "a terrible ordeal" for the family.

"It was quite terrifying. It will be difficult to get over. I do not think the family will get over it," he added outside the High Court.

Neither of the brothers was present in court to hear the judges' decision.

Awais said family members went to Bullingdon Prison in Oxfordshire to bring him home.

Best-
Vikram

[MoA]

I believe the father got off, but the brother is still in jail. The UK is a nanny state. Given their current state one wonder how on earth did the sun never set on the British Empire.

[Virendra S Rathore]

"The burglary was over and the burglars had gone. No one was in any further danger from them."

Oh they should've thanked the burglars for their mercy then and not this judge.
Whats happening to judiciary in UK ?
Agreed that the best case of self-defense would've been to retaliate when burglars were still inside house.
But till the point you have them in reach and can recover your looted items, one should go after them.
What is the point in chasing otherwise, should we just sit ducks seeing them go away looting us and wait for police ??
Its a disgrace for self-esteem ... pathetic ... !!!

[Sujay]

Something refreshing... the link is here

http://sify.com/finance/gun-laws-are-ge ... jfgff.html

Note how ( as usual) comments like "They shoot each other over parking spaces, at football games and at family events," were made without any relevant data.

I think the persons making these comments merely state their fantasies.

Most notable point is.. The flood of legislative victories in Tennessee after many years of frustration now has some gun backers aiming for a whole new level of freedom: No permits at all.

[boatme99]

England has become a nation of pussies. They have outlawed guns, knives, self defense, fire extinguishers, speech, and soon brightly colored hair driers (See todays news out of London). They are going to use drone aircraft to spy on their own citizens.
How far they have fallen.

[kanwar76]

What you expect from a country where this is happening

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... cants.html

-Inder