I’d want to do the same - mother kills children’s abuser

[HermioneKipper]

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sarah-sands-kill-sex-abuse-paedophile-b2231508.html

i think any parent would do the same if given the chance

I think she went to jail for four years? Four years lost from watching her boys grow up. So these poor kids get abused and lose their mum for four years. All very sad.

The only mistake she made was getting caught.

Nobody should be judging this Women...no-one

@Greenshake how was it pointless? She saved any other child from being abused by this creature and also gave her children peace of mind that he can never hurt them again!

She should never have been sent to prison either.

I understood how she felt. I'd very likely have felt the same way myself.

But for obvious reasons we can't live in a society where vigilantism is given any form of pass. There's a reason families don't get to decide the fates of those who harm our loved ones. Having undergone that kind of grief I wouldn't want anything on my conscience which might later add to my pain.

In many respects Dickens was right: the law is an ass. But on this point, at least, it's right.

I think this brings up a key point. We (collectively) give up vigilante justice in exchange for protection from a formal justice system. Sexual violence of all kinds is prosecuted & convicted at such low rates that rape and child abuse is effectively legal.

When such an important social contract is broken I can see a day when the illegality of vigilantism is formally challenged.

We can see what the repercussions are of the kind of "justice" you're advocating for are, though. This pervert was released and enabled to reoffend again and again and again, creating new groups of victims every single time. Is that better? The criminal justice system in this country is inherently flawed, I can't blame this woman for taking matters into her own hands after her and her children were failed so completely by it.

As a victim myself, I don't agree with what she did. However much she hates him, her actions were wrong. It's sad that her dc had this double trauma

Yes, this family tragedy is paying the price for a failed criminal system.

But this woman saved the next family.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this case.

First, in the interview I saw, the mum was regretful about her actions, she understood herself why she did it but it took her away into prison at a time the boys were vulnerable and she also said having taken a life weighed very heavily on her. She did not seem remotely jubilant about what she'd done (unlike some on here).

Second, her campaign for these offenders not to be able to change their names and for their crimes to be visible to those in the community, I agree with. This guy's offending record was horrendous, under a different name. Plus him being bailed after 24 convictions- what? Who is protecting the public?

Third, there's lots on here saying they would do the same, but actually almost no-one does, it's extremely unpleasant to confront an abuser, and then stab them. It's a bit like when we discuss old age and everyone reckons they'll be off to Dignitas, very few go through with these things. This case is on the news as it is highly unusual. I feel I could pull the trigger to kill an abuser but probably not stab them to death, I wouldn't stab anyone to death unless they came at me with a knife (I have been in a struggle with an offender and fought very hard so know how I'm likely to react).

Fourth, and I'm sure the mum would agree, once you get vigilantism, you open up a can of worms. The justice system can't even get it right every time and convicts the innocent and offenders get off. Put that system in the hands of people driven by emotion and without evidence- it's a recipe for disaster.

I do have sympathy for her though as she looks quite traumatised as well you would if you ended up stabbing someone, your kids were abused and you spent time in prison. Poor lady.

Mixed reaction here. I don't think people should take justice in their own hands, OTOH the justice system is clearly failing society here.

I do think she should have got a much shorter sentence, taking into consideration all the factors, and that she is unlikely to reoffend.

I wonder what the 'two wrongs don't make a right' crowd would be saying if thier child was abused by a known sex offender

This! Justice doesn't always take its course. My abuser was never given so much as a slap on the wrist, despite me giving evidence. Probably out there right now abusing other helpless children. Even if this man was given a prison sentence, it's likely he would have been out well before he died, free to abuse others.

I work with offenders , many peadophiles change their name by deedpoll , most do !!. As their original name will be in the papers , I suspect it's so they can be welcomed back into the community and go on to offend again. Sex offenders should not be allowed to change their name..

Should be manslaughter due to diminished responsibility or provocation which are partial defences. Looks like from the Independent article that she has been in prison on remand for a number of years anyway, as she killed him in 2014. If it were up to me I'd say guilty of manslaughter, and she's done eight years already and is now free to go.

In my mind I'd do the same. I'd go further and say if my dds were victims of stalking or an abusive relationship that would be an option to me.

I really wouldn't hesitate to do what she did, the thought of other kids having the life I did and getting into situations like I did, would outweigh any bollocks about justice and right and wrong. Fuck that.

How is it justice and right that abusers get suspended sentences and let off, time and time again? If they even get to court in the first place??

Same goes for fucking rapists too.

I don't condone people taking the law into their own hands but it's also an understandable reaction in these extreme circumstances and I can't say for sure that I would not do the same thing.

I think it’s wrong, and I disagree with the death penalty. However, in her position (as long as I knew my children had someone else to care for and love them) I can see that I might have done the same. I mean what’s the alternative? He had done it many times before and couldn’t/wouldn’t stop himself. Men can’t be allowed to just brutalise women and children always forever. Maybe if the justice system worked correctly he would have been in prison and wouldn’t even have had the chance to get near her children.

I fully support her - these men are released time and time again, destroying kids lives and nothing ever changes; there's no justice in this country.

I've fantasised about killing my DDs rapist, planned every last detail - the only thing that has stopped me is not being able to guarantee the bastard would actually die. The thought of him recovering and me being in prison and unable to protect my DD is enough to stop me.

If victims had justice then families wouldn't need to dish up their own. I would much rather these men stayed locked up for the rest of their lives, but that rarely happens, so...🤷🏻‍♀️

I think the fact that she watched him bleed out without phoning for the emergency services made a murder charge inevitable, tbh.

You see, if she did it today, you could probably phone 999 straight away knowing an ambulance would take an hour.

I also don’t know why people are talking about ‘oh she should have let him suffer in prison.’ That’s what she wanted! He wasn’t going to go to prison for any reasonable length of time. She couldn’t swallow a man who had brutalised her children being allowed to walk free to do it again, as he had done so many times before. How could she?

He is a man who committed the most horrendous crimes, for which he should of course face justice. But no one deserves to die.

No. Child molesters do deserve death. And I hope his was a painful death. Well done to the mum

Yeah yeah, we all know murder is illegal, and two wrongs don't make a right...but if that was my child, I'd do the same.

She's a brave woman, to actually go through with it and then go through prison, and I salute her.

Someone who’s related by marriage to my extended family is awaiting trial for csa.
I don’t know the guy well but went to family events with him there.
I can’t describe how anxious I’ve been and am constantly having bad dreams so imagine what it’s like for the poor parents.
Sarah Sands was probably in a complete state feeling both guilt and anxiety.
I don’t think she would have been able to even think straight.
I don’t believe in capital punishment but there needs to be harsher jail time for paedophiles.

Good point about the ambulance.