Justice....!

A

AlanJ

Elite
 North Yorks
BBC News 6 December 2013:

"A man has (this week) been sentenced to at least 20 years for the appalling murder of a policeman in Northern Ireland in 1981. John Proctor, 25, was murdered in the grounds of Magherafeldt Hospital, Londonderry, after visiting his wife and their newborn son. Seamus Kearney, convicted on the murder, will serve only 2 years of the sentence under the Good Friday Agreement."

And then......

"A British royal marine, convicted of killing a prisoner of war in Afghanistan, has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 10 years behind bars. A military court on Friday found Sergeant Alexander Blackman guilty of murdering an injured Afghan prisoner in cold blood while on duty in the country’s southern province of Helmand in September 2011."

I do not condone either incidents but surely justice has not been served here and particularly when Kearney was convicted in 1984 for attempting to murder UDA soldiers. :thumbsdown:
 
yes agree with you...pity the video evidence came to light. im sure the majority of us haven't a clue what it is like to see and experience what soldiers go through.
 
That's because many Irish politicians are former members of organisations it may be best not to name on an open forum. (I've already had to live through an episode in my life of checking under my car every morning - no I'm not kidding) The b*stards are looking after themselves as usual.

I really want some of them to get outed and proven to have done what they did.
 
Not only has the ex-Marine to spend at least 10 years in prison, he was 'dismissed in disgrace' from the service - unfortunately An Example Has Been Made :thumbsdown:
 
I don't condone what he did, but I don't think he was of sound mind. One can only hope that he's not given a hard time in prison. Although any con stupid enough to take on a Royal Marine NCO who may well have a case of PTSD deserves everything they get.
 
Stuart Truman said:
I don't condone what he did, but I don't think he was of sound mind. One can only hope that he's not given a hard time in prison. Although any con stupid enough to take on a Royal Marine NCO who may well have a case of PTSD deserves everything they get.
Click to expand...
Maybe he can serve his time with the "soldiers" who engaged in an "act of war" in Woolwich, then justice will be served!
 
An absolute joke!

War is hell and as is well documented, dehumanises you, it's the body's coping mechanism to deal with all the sh1t going on around you. End of!

Who is anybody to judge that Royal marine and then name him putting innocent peoples lives at risk and for what? His name is not of public interest, the only people who would be interested would be terrorist organisations looking to hunt him and his family down for revenge. You do your best and serve your country in the process and this is how you are treated.

I'm not saying that what he did was right but if any of us were in his position would we have acted any differently? Who knows, it's likely that none of us have been tested in such a way or ever will be, thank God. I'm afraid that sitting in the comfort of your armchair, passing judgement is completely meaningless.

Ok, no one asked him to join up, he volunteered. Well, thank God he and people like him do volunteer to serve, where would that leave our armed forces if they didn't?

But Life? I reckon that a much shorter sentence should have been doled out as an example that it is, of course fundamentally wrong to kill any one in cold blood. But, from what I can see there is a world of mitigating circumstances, not least the number of tours he had done in a war zone. I hope he appeals the length of his sentence.

However, it is totally inexcusable to name the guy and if I were a young man contemplating to join up, in light of this my answer to the recruiting sergeant (HM Government) would be, F**k you, do your own dirty work and face up to the consequences yourself!
 
Totally agree with the majority of the sentiments expressed, no account seems to be taken of the circumstances - are we the only country in the world to get it wrong? The silent majority lose out again.
 
Unfortunately it's a conviction for murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence. The only leeway the judge has is the minimum term.
 
True. I agree with Geezah though, he should have been allowed to choose anonymity. The other two Marines involved were found not guilty of anything, and remain anonymous. He also has to serve his term in a civilian prison, not sure if that's good or bad.
 
Can't say I agree with the verdict or the sentence, for the Royal Marine. I do believe the law should allow for operational conditions for serving personnel. I do also think that he has been made an example of & that this is not justice.

What he did was wrong, but conditioning had clearly influenced his decision making. This was a normal guy, from what I have read. Not a murderer.

Unfortunately it has brought back the memory of seeing a motorcyclist, obliterated, on the A38, by a woman who was late for work. She got 90 days community service.

The world is not always a fare place, take care out there. :thumbsdown:
 
the marine got what he deserved. to let him get away with it would of been the equivalent of nazis being able to get away with the atrocities they commited. infact i would go as far as to say, the nazis had orders but he acted against orders and he knew it!

let the mutha fcuka rot in hell i say, justice in other countries would of been the death penalty.... we are too soft n criminals!
 
Envy - the first part of your post was fine, it's your opinion and you are perfectly entitled to it. The second part of your post is the typical vitriol you descend to on topics like this. Try to keep it balanced, there was more that one party involved in this, there are mitigating circumstances which I hope you never have to experience. The death penalty is not an option in this country and I continue to hope it never will be -- otherwise we would see summary justice being carried out, similar to that provided by Marine A.

Back on topic, there are obvious political influences at play here - the imbalance between sentencing, where both situations are crimes of murder, is unfortunately typical not just of this government, but is a strategy of appeasement to prevent fallout. After all, it's not as if the military would revolt...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
i was keeping it balanced and as far as i am concerned, there is no mitigation and obviously i am not in the minority here as he was judged by his peers and they found him guilty. just because you seem to think that it was justified, doesnt mean that it was. as for the injustice, that is subjective

as for the other instance and comparing it to the marine, there is no comparison between the two so they cannot be judged as being the same or having different sentences. the only similarity between the two was that someone was killed, thats the only fact. the rest is open to debate

if you want to keep things balanced, maybe next time compare apples to apples!
 
I feel for the guys family, now that his name is public knowledge they are fair game to all the extremists out there looking for an easy target/headline.
As for justice, well there was no doubt that he was guilty, but the sentence he received will weigh heavily on soldiers minds which may cost them and this country dearly.
 
Envy, I never said it was justified, please try reading my post before descending into your usual bias. I said that there are mitigating factors that should be taken into consideration. He was tried by Courts Martial, as a military person should be, he went against the ROE.. He was found guilty, which is correct. However, sentencing should be reflective of all considerations, and in this instance I doubt that it was - this was an instance where an example was to be made.

The instance of a murder sentence being reduced because of political agreement is farce. 2 years for murder? I wonder how long he will serve.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
No one here is saying that the killing was justified, I think we all agree that it is fundamentally wrong to kill anyone in cold blood..........unless (in the west) you are the United States of America government.
 
Silverfox said:
I feel for the guys family, now that his name is public knowledge they are fair game to all the extremists out there looking for an easy target/headline.
As for justice, well there was no doubt that he was guilty, but the sentence he received will weigh heavily on soldiers minds which may cost them and this country dearly.
Click to expand...
You are absolutely spot on, should never have been allowed to get this far. All sympathy to the family. Sad sad time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom