Henry Nowak

[rolloverbeethoven]

Heard of him? Probably not, because there seems to be an almost complete news blackout about him. Basically the police handcuffed him and let him bleed out because they thought he may have said something racist - he didn't, it was a lie told by his murderer. Henry was 18.

Tell that to Henry’s family. Asking for more kindness is frankly a pathetic response.

Police handcuffing an 18 year old and ignoring pleas after he’s stabbed is not normal.

This

Agree, minimum of 35 years would be more appropriate.

Think a lot of people will have the same reaction!

After 21 years The murderer will still be young enough to start a new life, unlike his poor victim. I hope when the time comes, the prisoner will be denied parole.

Me too

Listening to Henry’s father. So sad. Really is bad this was under the radar for so long.

The sentencing remarks are available here:

https://crimeline.co.uk/sentencing-remarks-r-v-vickrum-digwa-1-june-2026/

Apparently, the starting point for this situation is 15 years.

The judge listed the aggravating factors which then put it up to 23 years but then also mentioned the mitigating factors (no previous convictions and it wasn't premeditated) that then took it down to 21 years.

So, from a starting point of 15 years, the judge did uplift the sentence quite a bit.

His mother is an Indian citizen, as such after serving her sentence she should be deported.

The Home Secretary has a legal duty to pursue the deportation of any non-British or non-Irish citizen who receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or longer, subject to limited exceptions (such as successful human rights appeals).

@rolloverbeethoven Henry was handcuffed because the murderer told a convincing lie. There has been an apology from the police, and there is also an investigation:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70vy0kknj4o

I read about it when it happened because my son is a uni student in Southampton, and it was in the local press, as well as in university comms. It is all over the news this week because of the trial and verdict. The press couldn't report on it in much detail when it was pre-trial. Hopefully you understand why.

It is shocking, but an isolated incident. It shouldn't be used to stir up racial tension.

Has anybody suggested that it should?

why cant Life mean Life his the Evil guy who Stabbed him desrves never to walk the streets again and his Mother too

i live very close to where this happened and had to go to Southampton completely different Vibe to usual

It’s been widely reported and it is a tragedy.

I did read the sentencing remarks before I commented. I do still think it's far too lenient, but clearly it's defendable (legally). My personal feeling is that the judge paid far too much attention to the murderer and too little attention to the many serious aggravating factors. I also find it weird how much emphasis he placed on almost defending the police. I guess it could be read as concentrating on the guilt of the defendant, but it reads weirdly to me. Although tbh the judgement as a whole reads weirdly to me. But I'm not a lawyer.

The police are the ones responsible for stirring up racial tension in this case.

No they aren't. And you should wait until the investigation completes before judging them at all.

Their actions at the murder scene are the cause of a young man dying without assistance due to positive discrimination. That to me is stirring up social unrest.

That's simply not true. The pathologist said:
"no emergency medical treatment would have permitted access to the bleeding vein. In simple terms, he would not have survived, however quickly he received first aid, CPR or expert medical treatment."

...and the judge said:
"..the attending police officers honestly believed that there were reasonable grounds for suspecting Henry had committed an offence ... he was handcuffed for about a minute before his condition further deteriorated and the arresting officer began CPR. The police were given a convincing but wholly false narrative of the incident. It was dark and Henry was wearing a dark top. The entry damage caused by the knife through it, would not have been obvious. Whilst there was visible blood on Henry, it would not have clearly been seen coming from that wound and the clearly visible facial wound was not life-threatening. Henry was complaining that he had been stabbed and was struggling to breathe but that would not have necessarily told the officers how serious the situation had become. It is the experience of the criminal courts that sometimes, someone arrested and handcuffed will feign injury in the hope they may be released. These police officers were faced with having to make quick decisions in pressurised circumstances about the best way to act. The genuine shock to the particular police officer, when he realised that he had been giving CPR to Henry when he had a serious chest wound tends to show that he was doing his best in a very difficult situation."

I'm sorry but the established facts demonstrate how inept the police were. It's not unreasonable to judge these imbeciles who handcuffed a young man heamorraging to death in front of their eyes.

No they don't. Read the judge's quotes in my pp.

There is nothing in the link that disputes what I've said. The police handcuffed a dying man. They realised whilst he was cuffed that opps perhaps he was right after all and has been stabbed! And then proceeded to do CPR.

The police need to be named and shamed and loose their jobs. As an absolute minimum and people like you need to take a long hard look in the mirror. To defend the incompetence of the police in the case is disgusting.

What I can't get out of my head is the thought of Henry being relieved and thinking he'd get medical help when the police arrived, and him being abused and handcuffed instead.

Same. And so young.

@dumpti The judge's comments about the actions of the police are what read to me as a very odd defence of them. There needs to be a very thorough investigation, and the authorities need to be very transparent about it.

The idea of a dying 18 year old spending his last moments in handcuffs, surrounded by the murderer and his family, and his pleas dismissed by the police is emotive- obviously. Trying to pretend it isn't will get the authorities nowhere. They need to accept how appalling what happened is, or it won't go away.