Ridiculous sentence for stabber

[yorkie]

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/highlan...escapes-jail-for-stabbing-boy-over-x-box-row/

A drunk 55-year-old woman who stabbed a 13-year-old boy in her care for refusing to stop playing his X-Box has escaped jail.


Isobel Mackenzie lunged at the young boy and struck him in the abdomen with a kitchen knife after they rowed about the computer game.


A jury at Inverness Sheriff Court found her guilty of the attack following a three-day trial.


On Tuesday she escaped a jail sentence and was ordered by Sheriff Margaret Neilson to carry out 300 hours community service as a direct alternative to custody....

We have a system in this country that rewards violent criminals with insignificant punishments, it appears to be considered a worse crime[1] to watch ITV while refusing to pay for the BBC to fly remote controlled helicopters (link), or not pay for a train fare, or to give some abuse to a bus inspector (link).

Yes, you can stab someone and not go to jail, but watching TV has landed people in jail.

I think that sends a very clear message that violence is tolerated in this country

[1] People have been jailed for it, they obviously are more of a danger to society than stabbers. (link)

 

[Mojo]

Before someone else says it, I will; don't forget there is a difference between Scottish and English law.

But I do agree that is a very low sentence, and there must be some mitigating factor we're missing here.

 

[90019]

Yes, you can stab someone and not go to jail, but watching TV has landed people in jail.

I think that sends a very clear message that violence is tolerated in this country

Can you say for certain that all of the relevant facts in this incident have been reported?

 

[Aussie_Rail]

Could a group of vigilantes be put together to go and blow up her letter box? That aught to be good enough for payback.

 

[Geezertronic]

Surely there are no mitigating circumstances for stabbing someone? What about if the kid had died from his injuries? A chav on the steet could stab someone and claim mitigating circumstances if that was the case.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Can you say for certain that all of the relevant facts in this incident have been reported?

No considering Yorkie failed to give the whole article which explains more aout the incident.

A drunk 55-year-old woman who stabbed a 13-year-old boy in her care for refusing to stop playing his X-Box has escaped jail.

Isobel Mackenzie lunged at the young boy and struck him in the abdomen with a kitchen knife after they rowed about the computer game.

A jury at Inverness Sheriff Court found her guilty of the attack following a three-day trial.

On Tuesday she escaped a jail sentence and was ordered by Sheriff Margaret Neilson to carry out 300 hours community service as a direct alternative to custody.

The victim had told the court that Mackenzie was drunk when she attacked him at a house in the Highland capital on December 29 last year.

He said he was playing his X-Box in the living room when she arrived at the house drunk.

The teenager, now 14, told a jury: "She told me go upstairs and I had to unplug the X-Box and carry it to the bedroom to play there."

However, he later wanted to look up 'cheat codes' on the Internet, which help players progress on computer games.

The boy said he returned to the living room and connected to the Internet, but was told to turn it off by Mackenzie.

He told the jury: "She hit me on the back of the head. I stood up and pushed her back. We started fighting. We were punching and kicking each other."

However, he said the physical fight stopped after two minutes and the teenager resumed to working on the computer.

When he started playing the X-Box again, the boy said Mackenzie switched the computer off and pushed him back in his chair.

The teenager added: "I stood up and switched it back on. She pushed me back down on the chair. I saw she had a knife. I got up and tried to push her back, and then got stabbed."

The boy told the court the assault was deliberate and not accidental, adding: "She lunged at me."

Mackenzie had denied assaulting the boy to the danger of his life.

She claimed that he had inflicted the wound himself in a bid to get her into trouble.

Mackenzie had earlier admitted wilfully neglecting the youngster by being in a drunken state while the boy was in his care.

Sheriff Neilson said the crime against a child in her care was 'very serious' and could merit a custodial sentence.

However, she decided to order Mackenzie to do 300 hours community service as a direct alternative.

 

[mumrar]

Ah, thanks for the whole article. It now explains that if a child in your care ignores you can hit them on the back of the head. If the disobedient child still persists then arming yourself with a knife is of course the only option.

The only circumstance to consider in this case is the fact she was drunk while responsible for looking after a child. I have no idea why reference was made to Scotland having different laws. Is it more acceptable to do this sort of thing in Scottish society? To pander to stereotypes, perhaps it's more acceptable to be ****ed north of the border.