To think this is unreasonable and this judge knowingly scentenced this man to death

[Sootyandsweep2019]

Just read a heartbreaking story in the paper about an 87 year old man, who given a 27 month prison sentence after he killed someone in a car accident. The judge was warned at the time by the man's doctors that this was highly likely to lead to his death; but went ahead and did it anyway. As predicted, he died nine days later. This was not murder, this was not malicious; it was a complete, tragic accident.

By all means ban him from driving if he was a danger, look at tightening the driving regulations around older drivers.

But our obsession with "making people pay," for genuine accidents has led to this utter tragedy .

The poor man must have been terrified. I really think this particular judge/ case needs urgent investigation; and we need a wider look at whether prison is always an appropriate response to car accident s like this.

Sadly I don't expect the judge/ CPS/ solicitors etc. Feel guilty at all.

Whilst there are no winners in this case I believe it was the right decision by the judge.

Driving a car is a huge responsibility and you can't just speed off in a bad temper in the middle of a crowded carpark. His age is not an excuse in the same way as it wouldn't be if he'd committed another crime.

It's a shame some older people don't take more responsibility for deciding to stop driving. I do think a mandatory test at maybe 77-80 would be reasonable (70 is too young, considering my retirement age is meant to be 68 - young enough to work but not to drive...!).

Hopefully within the next decade with driverless cars this will start to become less of a problem, and maybe we'll all be safer.

I am shocked by the ageism here,
on 100% of other threads there would be people jumping up and down at the use of the words "old codger"

like a baying mob

I completely applaud the judge for seeing the crime for what it was and not being blinkered by other factors. Having already had an incident, he refused to believe he was unfit to keep driving and so many lives are now permanently affected. One less bloody lunatic driver on the road. This could have been my grandfather until we removed his car keys. I could never have forgiven him, or myself if anything had happened.

It was not an "accident"

Driving while impaired by anger is as dangerous as driving while inpaired by alcohol
And just as wilful
At any age

Sparklybaublefest

Only two posters have used that term the second being you.

When I opened this thread, I honestly thought it was going to be about a refugee being sent back to somewhere where they’d be at risk of persecution. To suggest a judge passing sentence on a clearly guilty man is ‘sentencing him to death’ is downright offensive.

He was 87, for god’s sake - death would hardly have been a surprising development even if he’d been spared jail (or hadn’t been involved in the crash full stop). To describe it as a tragedy is mawkish at best. My grandparents all died in the 87 - 89 bracket and, while I miss them dreadfully, I’d still hesitate to describe it as a tragedy. It’s just the natural order of life.

Save your sympathy for the victims. They didn’t get any from the perpetrator, by all accounts.

Erm the callousness of some people disgusts me

You're being ridiculous.
An elderly murderer died of natural causes.

ERM reflect perhaps on your own callousness rather than projecting it towards the more reasoned people on this thread

Erm the callousness of some people disgusts me

Me too, the callousness of not even bothering to apologise having caused, through dangerous driving, the death of one innocent person and life changing injuries to another. Utterly heartless.

This man committed the serious criminal offence of causing death by dangerous driving. He admitted it. It was not “an accident” or a “momentary lapse”.

He had a better more dignified death than he awarded his victim no doubt

There are plenty of elderly people in prison. It is not a death sentence and I'm not sure why it is being linked to his death. He was sentenced for his crime. Healthcare is easily accessible in prison. He had a heart attack which elderly people sometimes do. What's the issue here?!

But he never even apologised?? He not only killed one woman, he has left the other with life-changing injuries and narrowly missed a father and children. This is a sad outcome but unfortunately the judge was right. Why should the man have lived out his life comfortably at home with impunity?

Unless of course some lunatic decided to use dangerous heavy machinery to inflict untold damage to his head causing what mush have been a terrifying and horrific death.

I'm a mother who watched her dd's killer walk free from court. It wasn't an accident he murdered her in cold blood in tragic and upsetting circumstances.

My sympathy is with the victims and their families.

You're on the wind up, surely

I think this will, rightly, be looked at. The sentence was within the current sentencing guidelines. Being over two years the judge didn't have the option of a suspended sentence, and anything less really wouldn't fit the crime.

Treatment of geriatric prisoners is becoming a serious problem (as indeed just about everything else to do with prisons is) and I'd argue it's that, not the sentencing, that needs to change.

In short: The judge was reasonable. The prison and its staff may not have been. (I'd have to know more. Were there factors at play like disruption to routine medicine, or prison violence?)

Jesus Christ op! It wasn't an accident' he was dangerous driving.

Not long ago an older man who had just got some petrol got his pedals mixed up and rammed a man who was at the cash point into a bollard he managed to reverse back but in I'm assuming panic went into the man again he almost spilt the man in half.

I'm seeing a lot of older people getting automatic cars as they are easier to drive but they make them absolutely lethal to older people.

That's mans sentence was fair we need to do something about older drivers.

You seem like one of those op. Love the perpetrator hate the victim.

@ParkheadParadise. I'm so sorry.

after reading this whole thread and what he did, i think the judge was rather light on the sentencing, one dead and one facing a lifetime of pain and difficulties all because he had a temper tantrum, no that judge could have been a bit harder... and him dying after a few days in jail, wow he got off very lightly, those families have a life sentence, they have to deal with the fallout he created, put the broken pieces f their lives back together again and live everyday with the pain of what his actions caused... so nope that sentence was too light!!!

Still not getting it, are you OP

The only callousness seems to be from you