this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2025
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I support radical reform of our justice system, to follow something more like the Nordic model.
But in the meantime, violent offenders can't just be set free. The justice system should seek rehabilitation, yes, but also prevent reoffending. And someone who has already reoffended after the dangerous consequences have been revealed has clearly demonstrated that there is a need to prevent reoffending. This isn't a non-violent offence like theft. The offender (whether it's the arrested 18-year-old or not) needs to be prevented from harming, or potentially killing, someone more than he already has.
This goes extra if, as is likely the case, the crime was committed with hate against a vulnerable group as the motive.
It's also the message it sends to society about how much a cyclist's life is valued. If this young man gets a slap on the wrist it's essentially saying cyclist's are fair game. It's no big deal if you put their lives at risk. Is that really the message we want to be sending?
Nobody died. Nobody is saying people on bikes are free game. There are penalties between nothing and ten thousand years dungeon. You can do stuff like paying damages (years of debt for a kid like that! and actually helps the people hurt), suspended sentencing contingent on fulfilling behavioural therapy and no further convictions.
It's sheer luck that nobody died. If they shot random people on 2 separate occasions, but nobody died, would you say no prison time, just make him replace the blood soaked clothes?
That is a preposterous comparison. There is actually a difference between obtaining a lethal weapon, pointing it at someone you can directly see and using it on them and booby trapping something in an unlikely to be lethal way. The psychology is completely different.
I'm not talking out my arse. I'm trans, I've been hunted, released, and hunted again over and over one night then left bleeding and concussed in a gutter to die. I know what violence is, I know what it feels like to be a victim. Putting young people in gaol because you're scared and out for blood is a stupid thing to want unless your goal is turning a damaged kid into an unrepentant monster who's going to spend their life lashing out.
I don't think you understand the danger of what they did if you think this is a false comparison. Please take a minute to look into what an impact you would experience if that cyclist hit the ground head first. People die all the time in fights because their head smacked into the ground.
I agree that putting people in prison often puts them on a worse path in life. But I think that is true for all crimes. What I disagree with is you trivialising this particular crime saying it's unlikely to kill someone. That is not true. If you hit a wire at 30kph it's very likely to kill you.
4 people hit it? 0 died. So just guessing but less than 25% chance to kill you. That's not very likely.
Small sample size. Hard to draw conclusions. Let's end our disagreement here. All the best
Not often I come away from a discussion on sentencing glad the cops are the ones making the prosecution.