He failed to stop at a give way sign, refused to plead guilty (meaning the police spent time and resorces and delaying bringing the case to court) despite a cam recording. Also didn’t apparently show any remorse. I can therefore see why the Court gave this sentence although i agree there should be a better method of punishmement.
Not quite all accounts
‘The judge said he accepted Akins’s remorse was genuine but also said his failure to admit his guilt at an earlier stage prolonged Savanna Daniel’s “heartache and grief”.’
Agreed that it is a terrible reflection on the criminal justice system that it has taken so long to get to court.
It is a fact that he made a genuine driving error that lead directly to another man’s death. I’ve made genuine driving errors too. I imagine you have. We got lucky when we made ours.
On the pleading guilty thing, had he have done so he would have been sentenced and probably jailed at least two years ago - separated from at the time his seven month old daughter and very possible plunging his family into financial distress. By pleading not guilty he at least delayed that reality and perhaps there was a chance that the government would have seen sense and stopped jailing people for no obvious purpose before his case came up. In that circumstance would you have chosen immediate jail? I have to say I wouldn’t.
Sounds like he may have received very poor legal advice?
I strongly disagree. It is recognised that if you plead guilty the judge will normally give you a reduced sentence, in this case it is likely he would have received a suspended sentence.
He put the poor victims family through extra grief, why are you trying to defend him? Yes we all make mistakes, but surely the first thing you do in cases such as this is ADMIT them. Wouldn’t you do this if you were the driver knowing you had not stopped at a give way sign?
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If his legal advice had been plead guilty and you will get a suspended sentence, do not plead guilty and it’s likely you will be found guilty and go to jail, then it is highly likely he would have plead guilty. The fact that that is not what happened suggests that is not the legal advice he received and in the absence of information to the contrary , it is fair to conclude that that was informed legal advice.
So the question comes back again, on the circumstances he faced - a choice between pleading guilty and being immediately separated from his young family and very possibly immediately causing his family financial distress or not pleading guilty and at least buying time and possibly avoiding jail altogether, it is entirely understandable that he chose the latter option. I would have done the same. I suspect in reality you would too.
Why am I defending him? Well the person who has paid the biggest price is of course the deceased victim and his family. Sadly nothing we can do can bring him back. But in this case the driver had not been drinking, wasn’t on drugs, wasn’t speeding, did nothing to cause the tragic accident beyond making a genuine driving error. In sending him to jail, society is IMHO doing him a great wrong too.
Damnit. He was supposed to be laying my patio next week.
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Frankly I am disgusted that if you killed someone due to a driving offence you would plead not guilty on the basis it would put strain on your own family. I am also extremely annoyed that you can assume that I would also be prepared to do the same and add further grief to the victims family. Incidentally he has now been seperated from his family for some time so he didn’t achieve a lot by delaying the case.
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You are entitled to your view of course . I hope the next time you make a driving error, you get lucky again and don’t have to face up to the awful reality that this guy did and will for the rest of his life and even worse of course the awful reality that the deceased victim’s family have to live with.
Could I ask you to answer the question I first posed on this subject. In what way does society gain by putting this man in jail?
Delaying pleading guilty was a deliberate decision. If he’s guilty he should have plead guilty.
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I’m so glad we haven’t left all the old traditions behind in the move to Gasroom 3.0
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There is a terrible disconnect between the comfort and security that cars give to their drivers and the reality of what a mistake can cause.
The cyclist’s widow is on record as saying she didn’t want a custodial sentence either. But Akins pleading not guilty and prolonging the case doesn’t scream ‘decent’ to me.
But then again, I am no legal mind.
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I’m sorry but in what world is it right that if I make an error and kill someone as a direct result of my error that I do not take responsibility for my error?
I do agree however that a custodial sentence is probably not the most effective sanction.
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How many times do you reckon you’ve made posts like this before?
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If you would bother to read the end of my original post I said “I agree there should be a better method of punishment”. Proportional on his financial situation, I would have given him an order to give compensation to the victims family plus 12 months community work rigidly applied. I would also have banned him from driving for more than a year!
Can I ask you question. If god forbid, a driver killed a member of your family through dangerous driving, would you be happy seeing him walking past your house ever day with just a suspended sentence?
I think we agree then that the law committing people to prison for a genuine mistake, albeit with disastrous consequences, is wrong. Important to note that this case was legally careless not dangerous driving by the way.
Not sure in truth if I agree with the principle of financial compensation but I agree community service, perhaps if he is articulate, talking to drivers on driver retraining courses may actually be beneficial to society.
I don’t think anyone can truly know how they would respond to the loss of a loved one in such circumstances. I hope neither I nor you ever get to find out. I hope I would conclude, as I understand the wife of the cyclist in this case did, that the driver in this case did not deserve to go to prison. Can I in truth be sure I would think that logically when in great pain? Honestly I don’t know.
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Wouldn’t you rather watch a last minute goal?
To win a title?
Scored by the 'keeper?
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It’s good to finally hear your thoughts on the subject anyway
Justice system has a massive backlog due to Covid. That was a thing a few years ago some of you may recall. The Uk going to shit was all Starmers’s fault about 10 years before he was an MP according to Russell Brand and Daily Mail. Joey Barton is very sad that he kicked his missis in the head and abused people on social media if convicted why should he be stopped from fixing my boiler…or something…I forget how long ago Dev started this one.
You can’t get a more exciting end to the National League South season, with the top six teams within three points of each other.
Tomorrow’s key fixtures.
Truro C v St Albans C
Hemel Hempstead v Torquay U
Eastbourne B v Weston-super-Mare
Enfield T v Worthing
Tonbridge A v Boreham Wood
Dorking W v Chesham U
Farnborough v Maidstone U
St Alban’s are in the last relegation place, but could escape with a result at Truro.
It’s pretty interesting in National League North as well.
Tomorrow’s matches.
Southport v Kidderminster H
Brackley T v Farsley C
Hereford v Scunthorpe U
Could this be Brackley’s year at last? They have been in the play-offs every season since 2017-8, but failed every time. They take on bottom club Farsley Celtic, who have lost their last 17 league games.
Kiddy’s opponents, Southport, have drawn three and lost three of their past six.