Death-crash driver jailed

[JohnD]

"A DRIVER has been jailed for eight years after killing two sisters and their step-dad."

I think 8 years is none too much.

http://www.havant.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=455&ArticleID=1801195

 

[baldy01]

8 years for the manslaughter of 3 people, sounds a bit on the lenient side to me, I guess there must have been extenuating circumstances.

 

[Steve]

It is nice to see these moronic drivers locked away. Justice. Though I agree, 8 years does sound a bit lenient. He'll be out in 4.

 

[baldy01]

Don't get me started, the whole ridiculous "half-a-sentence" routine is a whole other discussion.

 

[JohnD]

8 years for the manslaughter of 3 people, sounds a bit on the lenient side to me, I guess there must have been extenuating circumstances.

Yes, it says on the BBC site:
"Winter told police the reason he was travelling at about 95mph was because he was tired and hungry after a long day at work and wanted to get home to sleep.

Rock Tansey QC, defending, said: "It is very much to his credit that he has been very frank that he was driving too fast and lost control of his car."

so I suppose the defending QC was putting the best possible gloss on it. If the driver hadn't admitted it, perhaps no-one would have known
"One witness, James Rowland, who was driving a 16-seater minibus, told police Winter was driving like a "lunatic". "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/5403438.stm

 

[Gary_M]

It begs the question - "What about all the other people who have killed someone through driving illegally"?

My condolences go to the family and friends of those killed, and I am not disputing the fact that this guy got a prison sentence, but I feel that it is another example of inconsistencies within the law.

Should there be fixed penalties for certain crimes or is it fair to take into account 'background reports'? In certain areas - i.e. not wearing a seatbelt, using a mobile phone when driving, driving at certain speeds over the limit,etc there are specific fines and/or endorsements - so would it really be unfair to have definite penalties for other driving crimes (and other crimes come to think of it)?

I know that prisons don't tend to be of great success in rehabilitating people, but that is due to the 'system' rather than the philosophy. It is fact that if there are not consitencies, people cannot learn about boundaries. People need boundaries for their own security, so it is not really surprising that crime rate is always on the increase (oops, I've gone a bit off track - my apologies )

 

[ban-all-sheds]

8 years for the manslaughter of 3 people, sounds a bit on the lenient side to me, I guess there must have been extenuating circumstances.

Yeah - he was driving a car, and therefore is virtually immune from the penalties that should accrue to someone who kills.

That's the way it always seems to work.

For a start, he got 8 years per life, but to run concurrently - WTF not consecutively?

And however long he gets, or should get, he should also be banned from driving for the rest of his life.

 

[joe-90]

Doesn't a concurrent sentence mean he cannot get parole?