Suspended sentence for a domestic abuse?

[AtHomeDadGlos]

AIBU to think that this is absolutely ridiculous?

www.theguardian.com/law/2017/sep/25/oxford-student-lavinia-woodward-gets-suspended-sentence-for-stabbing-boyfriend

Agree with those saying if you're shocked by this you aren't aware of what lenient sentences are generally handed out for Domestic Violence

I'm not shocked by the leniancy of the sentence. I'm shocked by the fact there's even a scintilla of chance she could wind up with a MD and treating patients.

No YADNBU. I think it's disgusting that she's not got a custodial sentence. And I certainly wouldn't want someone like her operating on me or any of my loved ones.

Stitchglitched There's no comparison. That man was acquitted; maybe the jury were wrong but he was acquitted. She was convicted.

I doubt the GMC will be as merciful as the judge.

As for this I'd sack the judge as well - you can have an accountable judiciary. Or you can have an independent judiciary. Not both. And I know which I prefer.

metro.co.uk/2017/01/06/girlfriend-stabbed-lover-because-he-ate-all-her-chips-6365331/

Working class and a 6m sentence.

I'm not defending the sentence in this case. But some statements made above are untrue. She did not 'get off scot free' and she did get a custodial sentence, a suspended one. Prison is not a cure for criminal behaviour and is dreadful at rehabilitation. Community sentences can be rigorous and demanding, and offenders be required to undertake work to address substance misuse or violence.

Reading the judges comments made me angry, no I'm not surprised at the suspended sentence at all unfortunately but the judge is almost falling over himself to pat her on the head and tell her she's a good girl really it was almost a didn't you do well not to have ever stabbed anyone before or since. Oh you broke your bail conditions but don't worry, it was awfully nice of you to apologise.....
at least tell her how fucking lucky she is and make her maybe slightly aware of the severity of the offence.

Watching with interest....

I am saddened but not surprised by the sentence. As pp have mentioned this was an unlawful wounding under section 20 so this case cannot be referred for appeal for undue leniency.

I hope that when Oxford Uni conclude their review it is decided that she is unable to continue her studies there.

I just wanted to add that my daughter is a friend of the victim, he has kept this very private and I think it is particularly vile that the Daily Fail published his full name and photograph.

Absolute disgrace ( as are all the other sentences for dv).
Scary that she has been allowed back on her course!
Even more that she could end up a doctor!
What does this teach other students?
Don't worry you can beat your gf/bf and you can still become a what you want if you have money/are clever?

Agreed EE - the model in some Scandinavian countries is so much better than ours (well generally actually, but in this area particularly). Prison here does not rehabilitate and in many cases exacerbates problems in the offenders rather than addressing them. They leave more damaged, more violent, often with no money and nowhere to go, and it's hardly surprising they repfffend. This woman is clearly not well, she needs treatment, not prison. I absolutely feel for the victim in every crime, having been one myself a few times, but as a victim my main concern is that the offender doesn't do it to anyone else, not that they have an arbitrary short custodial sentence and are then left to get on with it, often in a worse state than before.

This is a good summary.

thesecretbarrister.com/2017/05/16/an-oxford-medical-student-stabbed-her-boyfriend-with-a-bread-knife-so-why-is-she-not-going-to-prison/amp/

She's broken her bail conditions too apparently. She has voluntarily left her course to study something else, though there will be a formal exclusion procedure from Oxford.

She won't become a doctor. Honestly.

I thoroughly recommend the secret barrister. Her blog on this is excellent, and should be required reading before anyone posts on this thread. Better to post having read that than post in ignorance.

There's an update on the secret barrister:

thesecretbarrister.com/2017/09/26/update-an-oxford-medical-student-stabbed-her-boyfriend-with-a-bread-knife-so-why-did-she-not-go-to-prison/

Even though I know that the reporting of trials having some eye-catching character is often way off, I find it's very effective in triggering my outrage response and I need to read more rounded coverage before I can see things more rationally.

Athomedadglos

It's a sad day when 'just because she's a woman' you want her jailed!

You are wrong to say a man would be treated differently.
Sorry OP I think you have no idea how leniently some crimes are treated.

A suspended snetance isn't getting off. She has a conviction.

The Telegraph is trying to make this a race issue (despite them both being white) because no white middle class person has ever gone to gaol.

John Azah, chief executive of the Kingston Race and Inequalities Council said: "I always struggle with how the services legislate justice when it comes to Black Minority and Ethnic (BME) and white people. "If she wasn't Oxford-educated, if she came from a deprived area, I don't think she would have got the same sentence and been allowed to walk free."

@teainbed - I linked to the SecretBarrister's blog at 6pm yesterday. Didn't do an awful lot to stop a lot of the frothing.

Thanks for the update @Nauticant.

"You may disagree with its merits; you may think that all violent knife offences should result in immediate prison regardless of circumstances or personal mitigation. You may think there should be more women with mental health problems clogging up our prisons rather than receiving treatment in the outside world and trying to forge careers for themselves. But from a legal point of view, there’s little out of the ordinary."

Indeed.

My ex got a suspended sentence for harassing me. It wasn't even his first offence as after I kicked him into touch, he went to prison for harassing another woman. She was 'harassed' a couple of times over a few months. I'd been harassed over a decade and when he was found guilty, the judge had said it was one of the worst cases he had ever seen. A month later, he returned, bringing in a suspended sentence.

MH issues yes. But a crime was committed.

The woman who got the conviction was well known and in the media (ex an actor, harassing her for work). I'm a non-entity. Although it was far more threatening and sustained, he walked away scot free. I think judges apply their own perception of not only the victim but the perpetrator. In my case, I was a less famous, therefore less worthy victim. In this case, she was a more posh so more worthy criminal.

My ex got an 18 month suspended sentence for DV (on a new partner - never laid a finger on me), and lost his job as a result (DBS essential).
My best friend's ex got an 18 month suspended sentence for DV against her.
Neither of them stabbed anyone.
10 months does seem light considering the level of violence. I know of a woman who is currently serving a long sentence for attempted murder after attacking and stabbing her boyfriend. Sentencing seems to be very inconsistent.

Lavinia Woodward stabbed her boyfriend in the leg. While that was a terrible thing to do, it would not normally be considered attempted murder. There is no indication that the injuries he sustained were life threatening. She did get a suspended sentence and will have a criminal record. Presumably she will not be a medical doctor, but that will be up to the GMC. I agree with the anonymous lawyer's opinion and think that the suspended sentence was due to agreeing to get treatment of some kind for drug and mental health issues, but the Daily Mail's opinion that she should have been jailed, apparently largely because she is 'posh' will probably continue to be what some people think.

JigglyTuff The question is how one gets to be a talented individual with a bright future. Are you seriously suggesting that economic privilege has nothing to do with it? Yes, she might be more photogenic than the mobile hairdresser or apprentice, but, to be possessed of a life that causes judges to spare people from the squalid pits of prisons, there's an obvious link with wealth.