4 yrs for cutting down tree, no jail time for rape

And all the talk of a false equivalence. No, it’s a very good opportunity to look at what prison is supposed to do.

Justice - women need that
Reduce recidivism - sexual offending has an extremely high rate. Chopping down old trees doesn’t.
Reducing population offending - sexual offending is common and higher sentencing is a signal that women’s safety is important. Trees? Is this a huge issue?
Taking people off the streets - see recidivism. The average rapist is going to reoffend in 4 years. Put him in prison, he won’t find another woman to offend with there.

But, men like trees.

I’d be interested too..

Men under 25 are not exempt from criminal responsibility in Scotland.

They have 4 years, but will be released probably half way through.

Rape is a minimum of 4 years .. in most cases longer, and these are minimum sentences, so no early releases.

People are conflating things

Which men have got a suspended sentence for a conviction of rape?

Bugger all. Trouble is, too few of the women were willing to press charges. From prison on remand, he used mates to pressurise girls into keeping quiet.

I was in tears watching it.

Men like trees.

4 years is the right sentence for chopping down such a sacred and protected tree. But the sentence for rape should be higher.

You cannot compare the two crimes though. It's not the fact that 4 years is too long for these tossers , it highlights the fact that sentences for other crimes are offensively lenient. So yes, they should have got 4 years but overall our sentences should be far longer for all crime, with no chances of appeal or early release

They ARE true at the same time. It’s not theoretical. It is fucking shameful.

Maybe if prisons weren't full of people who'd written something on social media, there'd be space for more rapists?

The cost of imprisoning them also makes it ridiculous. They should have been given a few thousand hours of community service planting trees or some such.

it doesn’t make sense, it really doesn’t.

I think 4 years is lenient. But then I think all rape convictions should automatically be life, with plentiful extra torture dependent on the horror of the crime. I don't think it's helpful to say that because we don't punish rapists strongly enough we should lower the penalty for all other crimes.

This post sets up false equivalence.

Four years in jail for cutting down a tree, however famous it may be, is ridiculous.

Some convicted rapists do receive scandalously lenient sentences.

Both can be true at the same time.

I wonder how many years/months that works out at for each victim/offence.

Rapists should definitely get longer, but I don’t get the sympathy expressed above for those two complete morons. I’m sick of the justice system pussyfooting around people who contribute nothing and make life miserable for other people. It might seem “low level” but it’s not - it’s about time we started coming down on people like a ton of bricks.

I’m glad they’ve gone to prison. They deliberately picked something to destroy that would cause a lot of upset to the public. There are loads of other trees to choose from but they chose that one for the laughs. Bet they’re not laughing now.

Although I still think cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree deserved a prison sentence. But rapists should be getting longer.

Horrendous

And the other posts

1. Ozhan Ongun (Wales, 2024)

Offence: Rape of a 12-year-old girl (offences occurred 2016–2017).

Outcome: A two-year suspended sentence. Ongun was 12 at the time of the offences, and the court emphasised his young age as a mitigating factor. He was also mandated to complete rehabilitation, unpaid work, and was prohibited from contacting minors for 10 years.

1. Sean Hogg (Scotland, 2023)

Offence: Rape of a 13‑year‑old in Dalkeith Country Park while Hogg was 17.

Outcome: Received 270 hours of unpaid work (community payback), no custodial sentence. The Crown Advocate described the non-prison sentence as “unduly lenient,” prompting an appeal

And meanwhile there is such a crisis in prison places that they apparently have no choice but to give domestic abusers early release.

I wish there was as much public support for real action on VAWG as for retribution against these tree wankers.

I don’t think you can compare the two but I agree that from a woman’s point of view, it’s all just so fucking depressing.

The minimum sentence for rape is 4 years and in order for a sentence to be suspended it has to be 2 years or less. So not possible for a rapist to receive a suspended sentence. Juries are still reluctant to find a man not-guilty of rape (*caveat personal experience).

Here you go:

ttps://uk.news.yahoo.com/hundreds-of-convicted-rapists-walk-free-from-court-144846183.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABHPffMiWRn0ebqMZ_CnlyjcXGlOEiyFLZA8NFdIi9UvycwDqMrp6xjIEAj6RBNT9G6vs6NC1FvW4VBT-PSYp6x3T7w_R2MHypGanZ4M90dELu5wR_CNj7-L8IdQnJ7WosrSxLneQxWB0RbM4Cq_7ilzLnQzElS59wXtelZ-CnZM

Also, a great report on how rape has become de-criminalised:

The Decriminalisation of Rape | Rape Crisis England & Wales

The OP has every right to feel angry.

I think a community service sentence, planting trees for a considerable length of time, would be much more appropriate. Plus they have been widely identified and humiliated.

Men convicted of rape should always be given a long prison sentence.

I agree completely with the OP.