Teenage boy acquitted of murder and manslaughter after killing girl

[StarlightRobot]

Is anyone else baffled by the acquittal of a teenage boy who stabbed and killed nine year old Aria Thorpe. I can vaguely understand the acquittal for murder but how on earth has he been acquitted for manslaughter? He got a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her in the cheat while she was eating her dinner for goodness’ sake! Then he left her bleeding to death and hid on a train. It’s another example of the lives of girls just not mattering.

@BrickProblems

What happened with those boys? Did they get into trouble? That’s very very disturbing.

Nothing happened, parents were quite hands off.

I just can’t believe a 15 year old deciding to scare a child is defensible because scaring a child is his idea of “play” according to the defence. Even my 6 year old nephew has learnt not to scare his younger sister/cousin. Absolute nonsense.

I agree, it just seems so strange. The obvious risk of trying to scare someone by jabbing a knife at them is obviously that you stab them, a teenager would have to be extremely mentally delayed to not see that, which it doesn’t appear he was.

But we know there are many people whose main concern will not wanting to criminalise a young boy (criminal) due to his own actions. (Stabbing a child).
Oh no this is the first time he stabbed/ raped/ killed, he doesn’t deserve real punishment.

@Honeyhonay

That’s also my view, that the jury (Bristol) was part of the #bekind brigade that felt it would be mean to convict, in spite of the overwhelming evidence.

Of course #bekind never seems to apply to women and girls.

Maybe they were trying to be kind to the lad's mother.

Which is of no help to the next girl he stabs to death.

This. And the fact that those charges weren’t brought to court. He probably would have been found guilty of lesser crimes more easily to evidence. But CPS chose murder and manslaughter.

If they’d gone for GBH or similar, given he admitted to doing it, It would have been very hard to not convict.

The CPS made a mistake in my view, given there were no witnesses to verify any alternative or intentional account or motive.

But look how brave he was to come to court..

This all getting ridiculous, but yes dropping rocks off a motorway bridge is illegal, waving a knife around at home isn't.

Insufficient evidence to prove anything beyond reasonable doubt, according to the jury's verdict.

Waving a knife at someone in order to threaten them, even in your own home, is still illegal.

There’s even an offence for it:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/17/section/52

The garbage people are talking here is madness

The jury haven’t given their rationale.

You can’t charge GBH if the victim is dead. It becomes murder as the mens rea (mental element) for them both is serious harm, the only difference is whether the victim is alive or not. Hence why there are many cases of GBH which are converted to murder when the victim dies of their injuries months or even years down the line.

Yup.

Although 5 minutes of thought suggests an obvious one which we can't discuss and has nothing to do with the guilt or innocence of the stabber. The more I think about it the more blindingly obvious it seems.

@DannyDeever please can you say more or point me to something where I’d be able to understand what you mean? Maybe I’m very naive but I really have no clue

Not really. I think this was (misguided) jury nullification but the reasoning can't be stated in this thread. Sorry!

I wonder if a ND condition is involved.

Why would it be?

Pretty high functioning since he was googling what happens if you kill someone on his phone. Excusing any crime because of any neurodiversity would seem too much for even the “kindest” of juries.

If by jury nullification people mean voting with their conscience, then jury trials really are dead.

I worked with someone who was summoned to do jury service at the Old Bailey. He stated that whatever case he was on he would be voting not guilty because he was against the system or somesuch.

I know it's speculation but I can't imagine any scenario when someone would step forward and impale themselves on a knife. Turned round maybe not knowing it was there or attempted to run past. That poor girl was left to die, no services were called. There's only his story - and whatever he chose to omit from his story.

At the very least there should be some kind of new offence for older children playing with knives indoors.

Just had a look online and there are numerous people saying ”But he’s a child “ . I wonder if these kindly people support giving 16-year-olds the vote.

I have younger brothers and we play fought
Never once did any of us get knives out even at the height of the ninja Turtles popularity
The worst thing I as their older sister with a nine year Advantage could ever have done to them would’ve been bruises or broken appendages
I can’t even comprehend knives being involved in a play activity