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.

Like the person driving today at 40mph on a free flowing motorway. If you can’t keep up with traffic safely you know you aren’t safe to drive at all.

Makes you wonder if the legal fees for the trial have taken up rather a lot of someones inheritance and they are hoping for compo in some way ?

I cannot believe that anyone who reads the full report of the incident would come to any other conclusion than that of the judge.
The man was driving dangerously. Due to his extreme negligence and inability to control his temper, one person died, one person has life altering injuries and two people narrowly avoided injury.

Thank you MNHQ

This man never apologised either, except through his barrister in court.

For those who have sympathy for the 'poor old man who made a mistake' have you ever lost someone in a RTC?
I am so fed up of people expecting victims of crime to accept that circumstances were an 'accident' when they clearly were not. So easy to say if you haven't lost someone.
This man drove angry and killed someone. He deserved prison.
My husband died in a RTC which wasn't his own fault. The person who did it showed remorse in the end (took a while) but was still sentenced to 7 1/2yrs. He had a son who he would have seen less of while in prison I am sure. My 9yr old daughter never saw her father again.
Do crime - face the punishment.

(RTC - Road Traffic Collision - they are NOT accidents)

I think that there needs to be some stronger way of checking OAPs and their driving. We struggled persuading my mil she shouldn’t be driving, and my aunt. We’re now getting to that stage with my mum. I wish they had to be tested again every couple of years from 70 (I think they do at 80 now?).

Fuck I'm so sorry @TheGoodEnoughWife I can't imagine what you've been through

@JustASmallTownCurl thank you.

Makes me so cross when people think a 'I'm sorry' is enough when they have no idea how it feels to lose someone suddenly on the road.

We all make a choice when we choose to drive and should do that in the understanding that you have a possible weapon that can do great damage. Being sorry is not enough.

He killed someone and was punished accordingly

If the sentence given to this man stops ONE other person, old or otherwise, who deep down knows they shouldn't be driving, getting behind a wheel and causing an accident then it's suddenly less tragic. Yes, he must've been terrified, as anyone would going to jail, but what about how the bereaved family felt of the person he killed? An accident is when an event is unavoidable and unforseen - acting foolishly, selfishly and carelessly to the detriment of others is not an accident, it's manslaughter and last I checked 'old age' is not a plea. How can we fight against ageism as a society and then treat someone differently for that very reason? Imagine he was 57 instead of 87 but had a medical condition that meant he shouldn't drive - bet there would be less YANBU's then!

Hello we’re another family who made the decision to take the car keys away from FIL who had dementia (GP refused to do it as he felt sorry for him, even with diagnosis of dementia). He ransacked the house ever night looking for the keys because he forgot we had taken them so we had to tell him again and again.
This graph shows what a time bomb this is - look at crashes per mile travelled and these are usually ‘familiar’ miles too.

Deterrent doesn't just mean deterring the perpetrator for reoffending, it means deterring potential future perpetrators to therefore reduce potential future crimes

Except it seems you don’t understand that harsh punishment has not been proven to have a deterrent effect.

The woman’s loved one did not expect the man to go to jail; he wanted to have stricter licensing for older drivers. No law has changed at all since! This is where lives can actually be saved.

Support laws to prevent future accidents, don’t pointlessly jail people. Not all older people have close family that can take keys away; the government needs to do better in this area through strict testing.

**I genuinely question the public interest in imprisoning first time offenders, ( of any age), for a momentary lapse in concentration.

Really??? Maybe that’s what all first time offenders should say then ‘sorry Your Honour, momentary lapse in concentration’. That’s a ridiculous thing to suggest.

The sentence is based on many factors, including the type of incident, the accused’s age and mental health, how they plead and whether they show any remorse. Pleading not guilty outs the family through unnecessary pain and heartache and is unacceptable. I don’t think you can give them much sympathy - he didn’t seem to show any for the poor family he has hurt.

YABU, YABU, YABU

...Heagrenhas never apologised to his victims’ families, but the defence nonetheless claimed he had shown “genuine remorse” in interviews with his probation officer.....

HE NEVER APOLOGISED.

he refused to accept blame for what he did.

In a America, it's felony assault with a deadly weapon leading to death (something along those lines), but certainly "a deadly weapon".

He had plenty of time to turn his engine off, or remove his foot, but no, he jammed the accelerator hard enough to shoot 100 yards before an inanimate object stopped him, or who else would he have taken out.

Just because you're old, doesn't give you the ok to do things, especially like this. At his age, he knew better, and at his age, he is a disgrace to his generation for not apologising.

The number of times I've been stuck behind an oldie who should have given up driving years ago.... Mind plenty of young ones who should never have gotten a licence too.

If he went into a.oub with a knife, and stabbed her, cos she reminded him of his dead nagging wife, would that be ok too? Cos he is old!

Murder is murder. Death by driving without due care n attention is the very least manslaughter, not just a driving accident.

Is accidently letting off a firearm ok if you're old? He didn't know what he was doing, and panicked n pulled the trigger 30 times!

He.drove over 100 yards... That's the distance Usain Bolt runs. It's not a few feet.

YADBU

OMG. How would you feel if a member of your family was the person killed by this man. He has had a long , long life. How long was the life of his victim. Sentences for those who kill on the roads are ridiculously lenient

This is so sad - it wasnt manslaughter but death by dangerous driving, and since he had just hit a bollard, and carried on for 100 feet after hitting the women, he shouldnt have been driving at all. I agree with the womans partner - there are no winners here, and people over 70 should have regular driving tests to see if they are still ok to operate cars. Or maybe that should be everyone needs to pass a practical driving test every 10 years or so. Where I live it is almost impossible to get around if you dont drive (unless you have unlimited hours a day to take buses - eg. a 25 minute drive to the nearest town takes 2.5 hours on the bus with a change in between because of times and etc), so I understand people wanting to keep driving, but there area lot of people who shouldnt be on the road at all.

Clearly he shouldn't have been driving. That said, it seems that people who are unfit to drive have to voluntarily surrender their licenses. My much younger dad was not fit to drive. He was unwell with a variety of conditions, including leukaemia and very severe rheumatoid arthritis. He was also an alcoholic. I contacted the DVLA, and the police, to no avail. His GP also wrote to the DVLA. He was only stopped from driving when he did a rapid U turn, while drunk, in front of a police car. It should not take this to have someone ability to drive looked into.

He had an accident, got back in the car, had another accident that killed one women and has disabled another... he deserves that sentance

He walks with a frame and is incredibly frail and is at a stage in his life when even a minor fall could kill him.
Why on earth was he driving then?

All I can think, with this, is my children walking to the car, in a supermarket, and suddenly being hit and it all being over.....at how I'd feel.....

It wasn't an "accident" in it's purest sense. Older people need to stop driving when they aren't safe anymore. To top it off he didn't take responsibility and put his victims' families through a trial. I don't care how old he is...he deserved a prison sentence. (I am surprised he was imprisoned before the trial though....is there something we don't know?)

Should get life if you take life....

If he had passed out or had a fit and this happened then yes it would have been an harsh sentence but none of that happened he got what he deserved... actually to me he got off lightly with that sentence. I think if you take a life you should get life

19 mph in a carpark? Wtaf. He nearly ran someone else over before finally hitting the two woman and he carried on.
The judge was more than reasonable.