mumbo jumbo
Senior Member
- Location
- Birmingham
I've posted about this before but, now we've had a case of a vehicle being used as a murder weapon (in the Birmingham riots), it might be a good time to drive home the message about the horrors of lenient sentencing. I've been banging on at my MP about this and have today had an email setting out this letter which he has now written to Ken Clarke, Minister for Justice. I'll post again when I get the reply.
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The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Ministry of Justice
Selborne House
54 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QW
Dear Mr Clarke
Re Deaths of Pedestrains and Cyclists and Sentencing Policy.
Mr Sutton, who is a constituent of mine, was in touch with my office recently expressing his concerns regarding the seemingly light sentences that were still being delivered to drivers, particularly those of lorries, who managed to kill pedestrians and cyclists.
Sadly, it seems to be a regular occurrence in London that a cyclist is killed by a lorry when its driver has failed to adequately pay attention to the' blindside'.
Casting my memory back to this particular problem I think that there has always been a certain amount of concern that judges were reluctant to impose heavy sentences for driving offences that led to a fatality although I believe that the law was changed to make it easier to bring a charge of manslaughter and a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment.
Recently however it does appear that a number of cases involving a fatality have led to fines and sentences which from one point of view amount to no more than a slap on the wrist in light of the fact that an individual has lost his or her life through no fault of their own. It seems that the legal system still has a problem coming to terms with the fact that a motor vehicle of whatever description is a deadly implement which if not used conscientiously and diligently, at all times, can lead to death and not merely a transgression in terms of a road traffic offence.
The absence of an unpremeditated dimention does not lessen the impact of the offence and I feel that there is a strong case that the law should be seen to reflect this.
I appreciate that it would be all too easy, particularly in light of the impact on families who have lost loved ones, to be less than objective in this matter. However, I would appreciate some idea of your Dept's current view on this matter, whether or not sentencing policy in this area has been reviewed recently or if you have any plans to do so in the future.
With thanks for your assistance in this matter
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The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Ministry of Justice
Selborne House
54 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QW
Dear Mr Clarke
Re Deaths of Pedestrains and Cyclists and Sentencing Policy.
Mr Sutton, who is a constituent of mine, was in touch with my office recently expressing his concerns regarding the seemingly light sentences that were still being delivered to drivers, particularly those of lorries, who managed to kill pedestrians and cyclists.
Sadly, it seems to be a regular occurrence in London that a cyclist is killed by a lorry when its driver has failed to adequately pay attention to the' blindside'.
Casting my memory back to this particular problem I think that there has always been a certain amount of concern that judges were reluctant to impose heavy sentences for driving offences that led to a fatality although I believe that the law was changed to make it easier to bring a charge of manslaughter and a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment.
Recently however it does appear that a number of cases involving a fatality have led to fines and sentences which from one point of view amount to no more than a slap on the wrist in light of the fact that an individual has lost his or her life through no fault of their own. It seems that the legal system still has a problem coming to terms with the fact that a motor vehicle of whatever description is a deadly implement which if not used conscientiously and diligently, at all times, can lead to death and not merely a transgression in terms of a road traffic offence.
The absence of an unpremeditated dimention does not lessen the impact of the offence and I feel that there is a strong case that the law should be seen to reflect this.
I appreciate that it would be all too easy, particularly in light of the impact on families who have lost loved ones, to be less than objective in this matter. However, I would appreciate some idea of your Dept's current view on this matter, whether or not sentencing policy in this area has been reviewed recently or if you have any plans to do so in the future.
With thanks for your assistance in this matter
