AIBU to wonder why Rikki Neave's mother got a 7 year sentence?

[DigestiveBiscuit345]

I have just been listening to the podcasts about the murder of Rikki Neave.
The mother was found not guilty of murder but was sentenced to 7 years for child cruelty.
I usually find I am shocked that sentences for many crimes seem shorter than I would expect.
However, in this case it seemed like the mother was inadequate with diabolical parenting skills rather than intentionally systematically sadistic. For this reason, I am genuinely shocked she got a 7 year sentence for child cruelty.
Many families with social services interventions have children removed if they can't parent effectively but you don't hear about them getting lengthy prison sentences as in this case do you?
I feel genuinely surprised at the length of this sentence.

The ironic thing is that she was acquitted largely on the basis of the evidence of a police officer that, when he had been searching for Rikki, he had gone into the area he was eventually found and there was no body there; and she would have had no opportunity to place him there after that. However, the same problem arose at the trial of the actual killer, and it was then demonstrated that the police officer was wrong about where he had been searching.

She wasn't fitted up. She was a cruel neglectful heroin addicted mother. Watched TV programmes about the case recently but don't recall.mention of an abusive stepfather.
strange that some on here seem.to be defending her

She was fitted up to a degree in relation to the murder charge. The police were so sure it had to be her that they ignored lots of evidence indicating that it really couldn't have been.

Maybe you ought to watch those programmes again if you don't recall mention of an abusive stepfather.

I don't think anyone here is defending her. Merely pointing out that the police we so obsessed with pinning the blame on her that they didn't do their job properly and look at other evidence. Thats not defending the mother.

She deserved it and more. Had l been the judge then l would hand thrown the book at her

But yeah it’s convenient how fathers and step fathers are often overlooked isn’t it

She was an awful parent but i found the most uncomfortable element of the programme the denial of responsibility from SS and those around her. Her position as an adult who grew up in the care system whose parents both killed themselves was always going to make her vulnerable. I think the failings are multiple. Mostly what you see the power of is policy. Either the state provides intensive intervention and support or it removes children. It did neither and those adults happy to judge her while recounting awful things they saw were complicit in the problem. That little boy died at a point where families where kept together at almost any cost. I don’t know how her sentence compares to similar but am often surprised by the short sentences for violent assaults by males. I am sure the misogyny of the system was evident after all the murder and step father went unpunished for so very long.

The point of that radio 4 podcast is not whether she was a good or bad mother, if you thought that you are spectacularly missing the point.

It's how prejudice and personally judgements can frustrate the pursuit of justice at all levels from police, to the court of public opinion to actually court.

It's how people treated her spectacularly bady because they felt she deserved it.

And that's not justice.

(Also with a side order of the failings of social services)