Anyone follow the coverage of the Sarah Everard case today and want to vent?

[HangingOver]

I'm home alone today and except for whatsapping my friends have nothing to do with this incandescent rage and hopeless sadness.

Anyone else need to talk?

@LikeACatInTheDark

www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk

If anyone reading this is angry and wants to donate to a charity fighting like hell to push back the tide of hatred and violence towards women, this is for you. I can't say enough about how much I admire their work, and when they are operating on this tiny a shoestring a small monthly donation can really add up.

Thanks @sleeponeday - they're a great organisation. Small monthly donation set up now thanks to your post.

Will sign up for monthly donations thank you for sharing

Around the time my neighbour was murdered by her ex funding for woman's aid was cut drastically

Makes me so so angry

"Mr Sturman said: "He deserves a very lengthy finite term, but he did all he could after his arrest to minimise the wicked hard (sic) he has done, and that is a reason to draw back fromwhat the prosecution has invited you to do." "

Jesus. How could he possibly do anything to minimise the harm he has done?

pelosi indeed I knew of one case where the defendant was a Sex Offender (not rape, not involving children) but his wife and young child were never harmed by him, his colleagues had no idea he didn't have a nickname.

I mean he was diagnosed with an array of Mental Health disorders one of which was a severe split personality disorder where one personality had no recollection or knowledge of the other along with a whole other myriad of severe mental health issues. He however served his sentence before I started working with him in a therapeutic unit. Reading his file his crimes were never planned, they were erratic, no pattern , no MO.

Ted Bundy also like you said concealed his crimes from his partner and never harmed her.

His family and friends hope he will get therapy in prison to “help him unlock why he did it”

He did it because he wanted to, because he felt entitled, because his colleagues and his friends and his job gave him permission when they nicknamed him “the rapist” when they saw it as hilarious “banter” when the Met allowed him to show unsuspecting women his penis and keep his job.

That’s why he did it.

How was it not pre meditated murder when prior to the abduction, he purchased a roll of plastic to line his boot with?

“ Had she ever called the police because of his behaviour etc?”

I think we need to be careful in dragging his wife into this, remember there is no blame attached to her and she is also a victim in this.

I’m guessing the rate of domestic abuse among police officers is fairly high. (No stats just my opinion). Can you imagine trying to report that and how difficult it would be, basically to their colleagues. I can imagine they would worry that they would not be believed and their life could be made much worse.

I’m not saying that is the case here but just a general observation. There is no evidence that I have read so far that implies this is the case here.

Sentence will be at 11:30.

My Partner tried to call me last night, I couldn't answer the phone as I was thinking about Sarah, Being herded and bound and gagged, driven to the middle of nowhere and raped and murdered. THEN poured in petrol and burned to somehow get rid of his DNA and left, that shows this animal is incapable of empathy and compassion.

I do however agree with free speech and a trial by jury and legal representation. The defending QC HAS to say all these things, he has to try his damned hardest to get Couzens off. If he doesn't Couzens can claim his QC was inadequate and incapable and didn't defend him to the best of his ability and he could call for a re-trial or appeal. He has to do his job to the best of his ability so there can be no come backs to Couzen's legal representation.

I didn't think I could be more disgusted after reading and seeing that he used his power as a police officer as part of the plan he'd formed to hunt, abduct, rape and murder a woman.
And then I read that the defence are using his police officer status to mitigate against his sentence? The fact that he used his status, deliberately to get that lady into handcuffs and into his car knowing she'd feel safe because he was a police officer and if she kicked up a fuss and a passerby stopped he wouldn't have to change his plans because he'd flash his warrant card and they'd walk away thinking she was in the wrong and was safe with him anyway, I just can't believe that him being a serving police officer, and despite doing that, could be a mitigating factor for him not getting a longer sentence is just beyond belief.

I hope a PO leaves his cell door open regularly, and his fellow inmates have the presence of mind to not kill him, just make him suffer, repeatedly.

I'm really worried about the world my beautiful, intelligent and hardworking girl is stepping into as a new adult. Terrified in fact.

[quote worriedatthemoment]@MrsRobbieHart yes the ones I have read about i clearly have and thats quite a deflectioN [/quote]
“More or less of a deflection than women are killing people too” on a thread about the brutal murder of a woman by a man? You need to check yourself.

They said on tv news that over the last 12 years 15 women have been murdered by police officers. Awful

I am a Londoner and I have never been in the situation where I was stopped by a police officer. But if I am stopped by a police officer and he was alone, I would never trust him alone and I would call the police station to ask them to send backup (preferably female).

They might think I am nuts, but I would rather be nuts than raped and killed.

As we are talking about his wife (who is absolutely not to blame at all btw) I found it interesting how he came up with that elaborate lie about the Romanian gang, almost like a 'just blame the immigrants' type thing, which is bizarre considering his wife is an immigrant? I felt it showed that he has no respect for his immigrant wife? Maybe I am reading too much into it but I found it an interesting detail

@AdmiralCain

My Partner tried to call me last night, I couldn't answer the phone as I was thinking about Sarah, Being herded and bound and gagged, driven to the middle of nowhere and raped and murdered. THEN poured in petrol and burned to somehow get rid of his DNA and left, that shows this animal is incapable of empathy and compassion.

I do however agree with free speech and a trial by jury and legal representation. The defending QC HAS to say all these things, he has to try his damned hardest to get Couzens off. If he doesn't Couzens can claim his QC was inadequate and incapable and didn't defend him to the best of his ability and he could call for a re-trial or appeal. He has to do his job to the best of his ability so there can be no come backs to Couzen's legal representation.

There is no trial, he pleaded guilty.

@MakingM I am a londoner and I probably would not have intervened. But from now on, if i see a police officer trying to arrest anyone (esp a woman), I would make sure to go and ask questions. Nothing obstructive, just questions.

That man was a coward, if there were people asking him questions, he may not have done what he did.

That is a good point admiral the process needs to be cast iron so there can be no comeback.

I’ve just read Sarah’s sisters victim impact statement (daily mail)

Awful some of the details, poor girl and family.

His sentence is 11.30am. I’ll keep refreshing my news feed so I can see, but it won’t be long enough no matter what they give him.

I feel sorry for the wife & children in this too, having to live with that as they grow and her not knowing what kind of awful bastard she was married too.

I hope today Sarah’s family can have some closure (ridiculous to say I know) and try move forwards in some way.

Would he be able to appeal his sentence, even though there has been no trial?

I hope a PO leaves his cell door open regularly, and his fellow inmates have the presence of mind to not kill him, just make him suffer, repeatedly

I hope he doesn't. The punishment is loss of liberty, not mob violence and a PO deciding who is deserving of a beating. Whatever he has done, and this is horrific.

@Claudethecat

Would he be able to appeal his sentence, even though there has been no trial?

Yes, both the defence and prosecution can appeal a sentence for being too lenient or too severe. Which would drag it all up again for Sarah’s family.

@Claudethecat

Would he be able to appeal his sentence, even though there has been no trial?

Yes you can appeal a sentence, but threshold for being awarded that appeal is massive. Also there is no recourse to legal aid for submitting an appeal, so he'd have to drum up £3k just to lodge the paperwork. If an appeal is granted then the legal aid comes back in.

Grounds of appeal is generally things like your defence failed, or mitigating circumstances not taken in to account. Severe Mental Health diagnosis.

But I can't see how his defence have failed, they've put forward his case, presented his mitigating circumstances and he has no mental health diagnosis. Pre sentencing would have included a report from a forensic psychologist and they have clearly deemed him to have no mental health issues (which is frightening) that means he is a sound of mind individual who has carried out this crime! Chilling.

Sue Fish (previous chief constable for Nottinghamshire) on Sky News saying resisting arrest is an offence, but you should ask to see ID and ask them to call the control room in front of you.

It’s also reasonable to film the police and call someone to help you.

She was asked how often do police misuse their powers? Sue says it’s very common, we have a misogynistic police culture that attracts people like WC because of the power to be able to detain someone’s liberty from them. Officers mis-using their powers on a daily basis.

Says every force should adopt misogyny as a hate crime. Low level concerns should be reported, as they currently aren’t. Colleagues realised something wasn’t right but it wasn’t acknowledged, so a wilful blindness.

Whistle blowers are isolated and marginalised.

[quote onlychildhamster]@MakingM I am a londoner and I probably would not have intervened. But from now on, if i see a police officer trying to arrest anyone (esp a woman), I would make sure to go and ask questions. Nothing obstructive, just questions.

That man was a coward, if there were people asking him questions, he may not have done what he did.[/quote]
Yes, and asking for their badge number and taking the license plate number and calling the local police station to check that the person being “arrested” was actually arrested is reasonable too.

The problem is there will undoubtedly be a few men out there who see this as an opportunity now. We’ll all have to be even more aware.

Thanks Badger and Gwrach.

In the sentencing submission, the brief set out the kind of offences that might merit a whole-life term. He started off with

" "The murder of two or more persons, where each murder involves one of the following..."

Is this correct, ie that there has to be more than 1 victim for a whole-life tariff to apply?

If so, it bloody needs to change imo.