The Girl With Kaleidoscope Eyes ([info]thepurpleempire) wrote,
@ 2009-02-13 14:05:00
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Entry tags:bushfire

They've caught the bastard responsible for the Churchill fires. I have never been more serious when I say that we could do with taking a leaf out of Tudor England's book, and hang him up somewhere so people can chuck shit at him.


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[info]wenchilada
2009-02-13 03:37 am UTC (link)
He is expected to be charged with arson causing death.

How about murder?

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[info]thepurpleempire
2009-02-13 04:05 am UTC (link)
I think it's because a plea of insanity may get a murder charge downgraded, while arson causing death will stick. Can't locate anything to back that up with, for all it sounds familiar

There's apparently an "angry mob" forming outside the cop shop where they're holding him, so I may yet get my people chucking shit at him wish...

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[info]wenchilada
2009-02-13 04:27 am UTC (link)
Yes, I suppose making murder charges actually stick would be a tricky thing. I was about to say he was lucky that the police got to him first, but then again...

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[info]thepurpleempire
2009-02-13 05:20 am UTC (link)
Hm. There are certainly rumours going around that things will be, ahem, taken care of.

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[info]doushkasmum
2009-02-13 04:34 am UTC (link)
Actually, the legal definition of murder is quite narrow. Your actions must be intended to kill someone on purpose for it to be murder in the legal sense. Doing something, such as lighting a fire, that causes someone to die as a side effect has other names. Culpable driving causing death is another one. This makes prosecuting him easier, as they don't have to prove he wanted to kill anyone, they just have to prove he lit the fire. I hope he gets 25 years.

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[info]thepurpleempire
2009-02-13 05:20 am UTC (link)
Yep. There was talk of charging anyone they caught with reckless murder, but I suspect the burden of proof makes it easier to make the charge arson causing death. Reduces the penalty from 25-to-life to 25 years, but at his age it's almost the same thing, discounting parole.

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[info]splodgenoodles
2009-02-13 05:42 am UTC (link)
That's if he even survives a day in prison.

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[info]mr_bassman
2009-02-13 07:11 am UTC (link)
It a very fraught situation, being arrested and accused of a crime in a climate of anger and vengeance.

At the moment, the accused is being virtually tried by the mass media and some public opinion and may not have much hope of a fair trial. Of course, the accused may also not get to trial if the preliminary hearings show that he is unfit to stand.

The good thing about not being in Tudor England is that if he is guilty he will not be killed by the state and if he is not guilty he will walk free.

I wonder if he is Catholic?

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[info]sjkasabi
2009-02-13 08:57 am UTC (link)
Well, he hasn't been found guilty yet.

And if he's guilty, I can't imagine having shit thrown at him will change anything about him that made him do something so monstrous. If he's unbalanced, it might unbalance him further.

And taking vengeance like that is not something I want to live in a society that condones. It degrades us to give into those emotions.

So I'll just sit here feeling sad and miserable and hope he is the guilty one, because at least then he's not going to be able to light any more fires while in custody.

*sigh*

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