To think a 7 year sentence is not a life sentence

[viques]

Wendall Baker was convicted in 2013 of the brutal beating, rape and imprisonment of a 66 year old woman. He was given a life sentence, but the parole board have now decided that he is no longer a danger to the public and is to be paroled . The man cruelly and remorselessly brutalised a woman and subjected her to the most appalling ordeal. He is still a danger to women, someone with his mindset should never be allowed to walk free.

What is it with parole boards and rapists. Remember Warboys.

The conviction rates for rape in the UK is appalling, luckily there was DNA to prove his guilt, though it took two trials thanks to incompetent police and judicial work , but for heavens sake, once one of the bastards is behind bars is it too much to expect them to bloody be kept there.

@LaureBerthaud apologies- I spent your name wrongly in above post.

It is revolting that he is getting out after 7 years.

7 years is NOTHING in terms of processing her trauma. So effectively the woman who was his victim is serving a longer sentence than him.

Fucking appalling that he gets to waltz free.

@AbsentmindedWoman if you'd done even the most basic of reading into the case you would know that the lady sadly died almost 20 years ago.

@Lockheart you have just summed up the fundamental problem with this post...people not grasping the most basic facts and then making it up as they go along.

@Lockheart no I didn't read about the case and frankly don't see why it matters, taking it at face value that these two facts are true:

a) He raped and battered a woman

b) He served only 7 years

7 years jail time is not enough. It is nothing. It is not a just punishment for the hideous crime he committed.

Fortunately our justice system isn't based solely on retribution and the need for the public to be satisfied that offenders are getting what they deserve. That is one aspect of sentencing but there are other factors at play when sentences are made including rehabilitation and public protection. As a professional working in the field I would say for a parole board to release on tariff is highly unusual, I would be interested in the details of the case and the decision but, rightly so, they are confidential.

Fortunately our justice system isn't based solely on retribution and the need for the public to be satisfied that offenders are getting what they deserve

Is it 'fortunate' that there is a perception sentencing is inadequate? To consider that 'fortunate' is one opinion. Others might consider other adjectives more appropriate.

He served 8 years not 7, not a huge difference but still, accuracy matters.

This is from a BBC report on this case.

^the trial of Wendell Baker was one of the most disturbing I've reported on.The brutal nature of the attack was distressing enough, but it was compounded by Baker's failure to show any remorse. His defence to the overwhelming scientific evidence against him was that police had planted semen from a used condom.
A judicial error in 1999 and the later loss of vital police case-files meant Baker almost escaped justice. It must be galling, therefore, for those who worked so hard to secure his conviction that he's being let out at the first time of asking^

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-52727271

The justice system? Lol. When it comes to a lot of fields within the law, it is disingenuous to call it a ‘justice’ system.

It is a legal system, full of structural inequalities and inequities. There is nothing ‘just’ about a lot of processes and outcomes of the legal system.

A judicial error in 1999 and the later loss of vital police case-files meant Baker almost escaped justice. It must be galling, therefore, for those who worked so hard to secure his conviction that he's being let out at the first time of asking

Surely these things should mean he spends less time in prison not more? It isn’t his fault and it doesn’t mean he should spend more time in prison as they had to work extra hard.

There is certainly an argument that sentences should be longer in the U.K. It is, however, nothing to do with not valuing women or the parole board being incompetent monsters. It’s a complex process and the nuances of it are lost on most people.

Fair point @BananaPop2020

It’s a complex process and the nuances of it are lost on most people

Including me Platoate but it's not the parole board I'm railing against specifically, it's a legal system where the perpetrator of such an heinous crime can even be considered for parole after serving only 7 years.

@PlatoAteMySnozcumber his sentence in 2013 was reduced by the number of days he had already spent in custody (just under 2 years) during the initial investigations / trials.

@AbsentmindedWoman only one of those two facts is true. He has spent longer than 7 years in custody.

I wish people would inform themselves rather than saying they don't care about the facts.

his sentence in 2013 was reduced by the number of days he had already spent in custody (just under 2 years) during the initial investigations / trials.

His sentence wasn’t reduced per se as his sentence was his sentence, but the days he already spent in custody would count towards serving it. So actually he probably spent a bit more than 8 years in custody, more like 9 if it was almost two years remanded in custody first?