Abuse of authority, better bet you deserve a higher sentence
It was to be expected that he would appeal. He received the toughest possible sentence, so appealing it really is his only hope. Having said that…
>Mr Sturman said it was accepted that Couzens deserved “decades in jail” but his remorse and guilty plea should balance out the aggravating factor of having carried out the kidnap, rape and murder while he was a serving police officer.
This argument understates his crime to a huge degree. He didn’t just commit the crimes while also happening to be a police officer. He *used his authority as a police officer* to commit the crime. That’s a whole other level of dangerous.
I have no issues if Couzens dies in jail. I have no issues if he never meets the standards for parole, and lives the rest of his life in prison.
I am a little bit uncomfortable with the move towards life sentences without the chance of release. We are not America, and “tough on crime” sentences reek of populism that appeals to emotion, specifically anger. He’s the first person to receive a whole life tariff for a single murder, outside of terrorism.
Obviously he has the right to appeal, and given that it’s the first whole life term for a single non-terrorist murder it makes sense legally, if only to clarify whether it’s okay to do that.
He’s rather lucky that the Council of Europe and the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act exist though.
I mean thats his right, he has nothing to lose so actually this is quite a good example of our justice system. That even a man as obviously right for a whole life order, can, despite his actions appeal.
Now naturally he will be denied. This is not really a discussion.
Should he have some sort of dignity and not do this to the family? Yes, but a man who did that action has no humanity let alone dignity.
Let him appeal, let him be denied, let him rot in misery.
deserves the gallows tbh
He wasn’t too ashamed to stop himself ordering tools off Amazon in his plan to kidnap a victim he hadn’t even met yet.
He wasn’t too ashamed to use his authority as a police officer to mislead Sarah and abduct her.
He wasn’t too ashamed to transfer her into another car – by which point she must have been well aware of the fact that she was in serious danger.
He wasn’t too ashamed to rape her, to strangle her, to set her corpse on fire.
He wasn’t too ashamed to *let his children play near her body*.
He wasn’t too ashamed to lie to the police about what he’d done with her.
But shame overcame him when he was asked to look her father in the eye?
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Abuse of authority, better bet you deserve a higher sentence
It was to be expected that he would appeal. He received the toughest possible sentence, so appealing it really is his only hope. Having said that…
>Mr Sturman said it was accepted that Couzens deserved “decades in jail” but his remorse and guilty plea should balance out the aggravating factor of having carried out the kidnap, rape and murder while he was a serving police officer.
This argument understates his crime to a huge degree. He didn’t just commit the crimes while also happening to be a police officer. He *used his authority as a police officer* to commit the crime. That’s a whole other level of dangerous.
I have no issues if Couzens dies in jail. I have no issues if he never meets the standards for parole, and lives the rest of his life in prison.
I am a little bit uncomfortable with the move towards life sentences without the chance of release. We are not America, and “tough on crime” sentences reek of populism that appeals to emotion, specifically anger. He’s the first person to receive a whole life tariff for a single murder, outside of terrorism.
Obviously he has the right to appeal, and given that it’s the first whole life term for a single non-terrorist murder it makes sense legally, if only to clarify whether it’s okay to do that.
He’s rather lucky that the Council of Europe and the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act exist though.
I mean thats his right, he has nothing to lose so actually this is quite a good example of our justice system. That even a man as obviously right for a whole life order, can, despite his actions appeal.
Now naturally he will be denied. This is not really a discussion.
Should he have some sort of dignity and not do this to the family? Yes, but a man who did that action has no humanity let alone dignity.
Let him appeal, let him be denied, let him rot in misery.
deserves the gallows tbh
He wasn’t too ashamed to stop himself ordering tools off Amazon in his plan to kidnap a victim he hadn’t even met yet.
He wasn’t too ashamed to use his authority as a police officer to mislead Sarah and abduct her.
He wasn’t too ashamed to transfer her into another car – by which point she must have been well aware of the fact that she was in serious danger.
He wasn’t too ashamed to rape her, to strangle her, to set her corpse on fire.
He wasn’t too ashamed to *let his children play near her body*.
He wasn’t too ashamed to lie to the police about what he’d done with her.
But shame overcame him when he was asked to look her father in the eye?
Triple his sentence.