National News Harry Dunn crash

Are they getting justice? So she admits it on the understanding that she won’t have to go to jail?

In a way they are getting justice, but nothing will bring their child back who died as a result of her carelessness.
Did she intend to kill anyone with her car? No.
Did she drive carelessly? Yes.
Did her careless driving cause a death? Yes.

The judge has directed that she attends in person for sentencing - she won`t go to jail for it, not many do unless there are mitigating circumstances like speed, drink, drugs but justice will be seen to be done for the family.

Probably the best they could hope for.
 
The sentencing guidelines are:
Starting points based on first time offender pleading not guilty


Examples of nature of activityStarting pointRange
Careless or inconsiderate driving arising from momentary inattention with no aggravating factorsMedium level community orderLow level community order – high level community order
Other cases of careless or inconsiderate driving36 weeks’ custodyHigh level community order – 2 years’ custody
Careless or inconsiderate driving falling not far short of dangerous driving15 months’ custody36 weeks – 3 years’ custody
The approach to the imposition of a custodial sentence should be as follows:


1) Has the custody threshold been passed?


  • A custodial sentence must not be imposed unless the offence or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it was so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence can be justified for the offence.
  • There is no general definition of where the custody threshold lies. The circumstances of the individual offence and the factors assessed by offence-specific guidelines will determine whether an offence is so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence can be justified. Where no offence specific guideline is available to determine seriousness, the harm caused by the offence, the culpability of the offender and any previous convictions will be relevant to the assessment.
  • The clear intention of the threshold test is to reserve prison as a punishment for the most serious offences.

2) Is it unavoidable that a sentence of imprisonment be imposed?


  • Passing the custody threshold does not mean that a custodial sentence should be deemed inevitable. Custody should not be imposed where a community order could provide sufficient restriction on an offender’s liberty (by way of punishment) while addressing the rehabilitation of the offender to prevent future crime.
  • For offenders on the cusp of custody, imprisonment should not be imposed where there would be an impact on dependants which would make a custodial sentence disproportionate to achieving the aims of sentencing.

3) What is the shortest term commensurate with the seriousness of the offence?


  • In considering this the court must NOT consider any licence or post sentence supervision requirements which may subsequently be imposed upon the offender’s release.

4) Can the sentence be suspended?


  • A suspended sentence MUST NOT be imposed as a more severe form of community order. A suspended sentence is a custodial sentence. Sentencers should be clear that they would impose an immediate custodial sentence if the power to suspend were not available. If not, a non-custodial sentence should be imposed.
 
In a way they are getting justice, but nothing will bring their child back who died as a result of her carelessness.
Did she intend to kill anyone with her car? No.
Did she drive carelessly? Yes.
Did her careless driving cause a death? Yes.

The judge has directed that she attends in person for sentencing - she won`t go to jail for it, not many do unless there are mitigating circumstances like speed, drink, drugs but justice will be seen to be done for the family.

Probably the best they could hope for.
This is sort of my point re justice being served - she won’t attend in person given that she has resisted extradition from the outset and so if the judge imposes a custodial sentence, it can’t be enforced because they can’t ‘take her down’ from the dock.
 
She's been given a 8 month prison sentence suspended for 12 months, and disqualified for driving for just 12 months. Seems they couldn't arsed with trying to get the Americans to hand her over.

And as for the 'ban' - You get 3 year ban if you drink and drive, but if you kill someone by driving round a blind corner on the wrong side of the road it's only 12 months. Great to know that the justice system puts so little value in human life. No wonder people have no faith in the justice system.

Mind you, Harry Dunn's family are happy with the verdict, and that's all that really matters - hopefully now they can move on from this terrible ordeal.
 
She's been given a 8 month prison sentence suspended for 12 months, and disqualified for driving for just 12 months. Seems they couldn't arsed with trying to get the Americans to hand her over.

And as for the 'ban' - You get 3 year ban if you drink and drive, but if you kill someone by driving round a blind corner on the wrong side of the road it's only 12 months. Great to know that the justice system puts so little value in human life. No wonder people have no faith in the justice system.

Mind you, Harry Dunn's family are happy with the verdict, and that's all that really matters - hopefully now they can move on from this terrible ordeal.
I think it’s a minimum 12 months ban for drink driving. Regardless, the Judge detailed the rationale behind the sentencing very well and left no one in any doubt that the sentence was appropriate in the circumstances.
Does it sit well with me? Nope, as far as I’m concerned she should have been made to return to the UK and served prison time, but that was never going to happen. Credit to the family for their tenacity and persistance, I can’t begin to imagine what the last three years have been like for them.
 
She's been given a 8 month prison sentence suspended for 12 months, and disqualified for driving for just 12 months. Seems they couldn't arsed with trying to get the Americans to hand her over.

And as for the 'ban' - You get 3 year ban if you drink and drive, but if you kill someone by driving round a blind corner on the wrong side of the road it's only 12 months. Great to know that the justice system puts so little value in human life. No wonder people have no faith in the justice system.

Mind you, Harry Dunn's family are happy with the verdict, and that's all that really matters - hopefully now they can move on from this terrible ordeal.
They tried to get her back but the yanks wouldn’t give her over and she also got diplomatic immunity.
 
Disgraceful that this horrid woman didn’t do time.
It might well not have been intentional but her intention was to avoid trial and treat the court hearing as an inconvenience.
That said there are no places left in prison despite the governments assertion they will build more prisons
 
Disgraceful that this horrid woman didn’t do time.
It might well not have been intentional but her intention was to avoid trial and treat the court hearing as an inconvenience.
That said there are no places left in prison despite the governments assertion they will build more prisons
I don’t disagree with what you say about her intentions but in those circumstances and given the chance, I bet 99% of people would do exactly the same thing.
 
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