To Feel Utterly Helpless - release of Natalie Connolly killer

[Arthersleep]

I feel so utterly helpless. The killer of young mother, Natalie Connolly, is about to be released after serving 18mths for killing Natalie under the guise on consensual rough sex! The 41 injuries from which she died included a fractured eye socket and severed artery in the vagina caused by horrific internal injuries. Natalie was too drunk/impaired to consent. A campaign to get the Attorney General to review the lenient sentence failed, after he concluded that it fell within the acceptable range and that she may have consented. The Rough Sex defence has now been out lawed and cannot be relied upon in court, which is a great step forward. However, what, if anything, can we do to appeal/object to the early release of the perpetrator?! As a woman I feel utterly helpless. I feel that we are or have not been listened too. I feel that the law is so concerned with convoluted rules that it fails to achieve the purpose with which it was created. How must this poor ladies family feel, beyond utter devastation. I don't know what to do.

womansplaceuk.org/justice-for-natalie-connolly/

What a tragic waste of Natalie's life.

That is such an unkind comment, Tiny. It is absolutely valid to feel helpless when an prime example of fatal violence against women going unpunished is displayed to you. To equate being fearful of the rise in women being slain during ‘rough sex’ to being a ‘drama llama’ is bizzare and gross

By tinys logic the whole BLM movement should GTF.

This case is doubly disturbing for me because:

By law of a person is really out of it they cannot consent to sex. There was no argument that Natalie was out of it. So it's automatically rape according to law.

Yes at the same time, it was decided that she could have consented to sex, even so legally she couldn't, because totally wasted, which was not contended.

In addition the sex she apparently consented to while too wasted to legally give consent, involved violence so extreme she was horribly injured to the point she died.

There is case law that a person cannot consent to bodily harm. See the tattoo parlour man where this was applied and I think he went to prison even though he had a pile of clients who had had tongues spilt etc who were alive, well and happy and telling the court they consented.

So in summary.

If the victim is female and dies during an encounter where a man said he was feeling sexy:

The law which says a person who is not in a fit state to consent, can consent

The precedent that a person cannot consent to a certain level of bodily harm, does not apply

The fact that the victim is dead and therefore the only narrative is from the person who killed her, is likely to be a reliable report of what happened.

Fuck them. This is what justice for women is. Useless.

His sentencing was outrageously out of line with the level of violence and fatal injuries he inflicted on Natalie. That he is being let out after serving only half of it sickens me.

If a march was organised, I would go. I’m a woman who enjoys all manner of consensual sex - I do not, nor does any other woman, deserve to be brutally murdered and have my own adult preferences used against me after death to benefit the cause of the murderer. It frightens me what sort of desensitised world my own daughter will live her adult life in, if this trend continues.

I live within a 5/10 minute walk from where this happened.
And the chap is known for all the wrong reasons

I hope he gets what's coming to him.

I lay awake all night trying to think of things to do. I'm sure that many of these are already being done/addressed by others. But I will look into them as possible avenues.

A justice for Natalie campaign - online petitions seeking greater sentences
Petitions against the use of violence against women in mainstream pornography
A 'Remember This Face' campaign - where photos of pertetrators of serious sexual crimes are
Uploaded to a site so that women can be aware/know to avoid (although doesn't give out addresses/locations to avoid vigilante action)
Ensure that online dating apps do not allow those who have committed sexual crimes to be on their sites ( I think that this may already be something that they do and or probation terms may address this (?)).
Ensure that comprehensive coverage of Domestic Violence/Consent issues is covered as part of an LLB Law degree (it may be already, but it wasn't when I didn't degree many moons ago)
Donate to domestic abuse charities
Publicise cases of domestic violence/serious sexual assaults on social media.

I'll do a little bit of hasty research in the next day or so and see what I can find.

Thank you for starting this thread OP.
Everything about this case is horrific. Natalie Connolly was brutally murdered and his sentencing was and is a joke.

I would also attend a March.

I hadn’t heard of this case until last night but yeah it’s massively weighing on my mind. Even if she did consent (which I’m absolutely sure she didn’t and wasn’t capable of anyway), then what does that say about the mindset of a man who would willing inflict so much pain on a woman he supposedly loved. Absolutely vile disgusting piece of shit. They really should have just thrown away the key. It’s beyond belief that he would get out so soon. It makes me so angry with the world.

I would also attend a march. Just horrific

Dreadful. This man should never know a moment’s peace again. He should be locked up forever.

I would help with a campaign. Feeling very angry and helpless.

An online petition could well raise the profile of this case.

I have emailed my MP asking her to raise it with the Home Sec and Minister for Justice.

@LakieLady would you share your email so we can send to our MP?

I doubt his sentence would be so lenient if he'd done the same damage to a man, who died of blood loss when his penis was severed.

Indeed

@Sicario

This is how much the law of the land values women.

18 months for a brutal, vicious murder. But hey, she's just a woman, so who gives a shit?

THE LAW DOESN'T WORK FOR WOMEN.

Never wanted a 'like' button on here so badly!

This appalling sentence is yet another example of the way the UK's justice system repeatedly betrays the victims of violent crimes. This murderer should be serving decades behind bars.The leniency of this sentence is indefensible.

What's so ridiculous is what type of person leaves someone they apparently care about in that state? That alone says his judgement is off.

I tell you what's ridiculous. That some sadistic killer inflicts fatal injuries and spends just 44 months behind bars. A law has been introduced to prevent the defense he used being used in future cases, but that is of zero comfort to Natalie's family. The decision not to prosecute him for murder given the severity of her injuries? Who is fighting for victims of violent criminals?

Well yes that's obviously ridiculous but I meant in terms of him claiming it's what she wanted.

Who is fighting for victims of violent criminals?

If it was my family member I would administer my own justice. The law is a joke particularly when it comes to women being harmed by partners/ex partners.

Horrific case. Really upsetting. That poor woman. Hope he's shunned and vilified for the rest of his life.

Yes, it's astonishing that he was able to use this as his defense. Especially since his victim was unable to challenge his self serving narrative because he had killed her. He should be spending decades behind bars.

This is local to me. Its absolutely outrageous that he is being released. Women need to stop being used as canon fodder for men.