Brighton cyclist jailed

[AlanD]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-13647541


This is very bad news, all completely avoidable and cannot be condoned.
A lot of damage may have been caused to the cyclists cause by this completely appalling behaviour. No matter what the provocation, we can never allow ourselves to lose our temper.
Very sad.

[Tonyf33]

As predicted he got a sentence that was within the ranges. IF he gets out after having served half his sentence I think the family (of the victim) should be rightly aggrieved

It was discussed previosuly here. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=50524

[pete75]

Why cyclist? This man appears to be, and certainly looks like, a thug. His mode of transport is irrelevant.
Surprised he got off with manslaughter I always thought that if you deliberately assault someone and your attack kills them them then it's murder.
Thought this bit was interesting "During mitigation, Lewis Power QC said Lambeth had suffered psychotic symptoms, including hearing voices in his head since 2001 and had not been taking his medication.". Is this another failure of "care in the community"?

[meic]

I remember learning something about the "eggshell skull" precedent.
This said something along the lines that if you hit somebody with a blow that would not kill a normal person but happened to kill somebody with an eggshell skull then it was no excuse for the attacker. (Interesting that that hasnt been mentioned ever wrt to reduced compensation for non-helmet wearers?)

I would say that the "eggshell skull" bit was applied in that he didnt get off any manslaughter charge because it was just one blow not meant to kill or even to be reasonably expected to kill.

However for it to be murder he had to have intended to kill and I dont think that anybody believes that he intended to kill his victim, just to hurt him.

[thirdcrank]

.... (Interesting that that hasnt been mentioned ever wrt to reduced compensation for non-helmet wearers?)
.....

Keep up at the back. Murder or manslaughter = crime. Compo = civil matter quite different. The necessary guilty mind (mens rea) element of muder "malice aforethought" has been much curtailed in the last seventy or so years.

[cycle tramp]

'Why cyclist? This man appears to be, and certainly looks like, a thug'.

Ah, isn't that a kind of a sweeping statement? He has long hair and a beard. Man, you must have trouble going to Church on a Sunday. Damn, long hair and a beard... just for the record. i have short hair, a beard, many tattoos, and a nose ring. Ah... kinda interested here. Does that make me a thug as well? Am i a thug..? Can you tell if a person is guilty just by looking at them...? Or do you come from that school of thought that if he doesn't read the daily mail then, he must be a thug.

This is a tragic event. One less human being is never a good thing. And i'm sorry for the loss that his friends and family are experiencing, and will continue to experience throughout their lives.

i doubt that there is not one amongst us, who having had their bodies put at risk by the actions of another have not felt some emotional response. Having a door opening on you is going to be in that bracket. Its one thing to speak about these things when we're all calm and quiet and at our keyboards, and another to be out their on the road, whilst the fight/flight chemicals, honed after thousands of years of evolution have just been squirted into your brain. There is not one reason to believe that we ourselves could find ourselves in a similar situation, either as the car driver or the bicycle rider. With this in mind, perhaps we should remind ourselves of some basic road safety.

When getting out of a car, and that's passagers as well!
i) check around you before opening your car door!! Really. If nothing else it saves the garage bills, when the door gets taken off by a passing van (and that happens more time than you think). And if you're opening on the pavement side, don't forget that there are still children on bikes and scooters and there are some fast mobility scooters nowadays, too.
ii) Open the car door slowly, because things happen even after you checked the mirrors

when on your bike;
i) cycle a car door width away from parked cars,
ii) Under, over and through ~ get used to looking at, and around park cars as you cycle, especially before you pass them. Even if there's no one in the car, there could still a be child going to step out between them.
iii) panel vans are a pain. if you can't see into the cab, then expect that the door will open on you anyway. If you're in town then reflections in glass windows may help, but always treat them with caution.
iii) boots open, engines running, lights, bonnets open are all good signs that there is activity around the vehicle and that something stupid will happen just as you get to pass the vehicle.
iv) Still concerned..? One of those rotary bells from Germany, which runs from the tyre, work really well... if you've got a bike you use for town then it may be worth just fitting one.. ah, people are generally lazy (again this is actually a design feature of evolution ~ regarding the expenditure of energy) and will use their ears to check to make sure its safe to alight from their vehicle.

Okay, all bread and butter stuff, but sometimes we all need a little remind, Lord knows i do Don't be too shy now to reply and correct my spelling, and disagree with me, and stuff. You'll get that warm feeling from helping to improve your fellow human being.

cycle tramp

[bovlomov]

He has long hair and a beard. Man, you must have trouble going to Church on a Sunday. Damn, long hair and a beard... just for the record. i have short hair, a beard, many tattoos, and a nose ring. Ah... kinda interested here. Does that make me a thug as well? Am i a thug..?

If you had an avatar with a photo of yourself (such as I have) then we'd be able to judge what kind of person you are.

[Actually, mines a bit out of date and I don't look like that now - I'll post a new one soon.]

[thirdcrank]

.... i doubt that there is not one amongst us, who having had their bodies put at risk by the actions of another have not felt some emotional response. ...

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=50524

That's an earlier thread when the defendant pleaded guilty and I've read nothing to change my mind about what I said there. I know nothing about this case, other than what's been published in the links, but speaking generally, I've found that whenever somebody doesn't manage to control their anger and violence flares, the difference in size and strength or availability of weapons, size of gang, or whatever, usually advantages the assailant. Had the driver in this case been, say, a rugby forward, perhaps with a couple of passengers of similar size, the surge of adrenalin might have had a different effect.

[cycle tramp]

Deleted

[meic]

Or consider that they may be carrying a knife or a gun which they are prepared to use in their self-defence.

[Nutsey]

He has mental health "issues" and should be in a straight jacket, not out and about terrifying people.

[kuriousoranj]

He has mental health "issues" and should be in a straight jacket, not out and about terrifying people.

Along with the other 25% of the population. Stick 'em in with the spastics and the unmarried mothers, eh?

[Nutsey]

[quote="kuriousoranj] spastics [/quote]

This is very offensive

[kuriousoranj]

[quote="kuriousoranj] spastics [/quote]

This is very offensive[/quote]

Quite, however, considering your previous post I'm surprised you in particular find it so.

[blackbike]

If he is some kind of psycho who can't be trusted to take his drugs and is liable to lash out at anyone who annoys him why hasn't he been locked up for good in some kind of mental institution where he can't harm anyone else?

At zoos we lock up dangerous animals permanently, so why ever let dangerous people free?