Justice?

[Duckfoot1606]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42829783

Hmm, implication is pinch a car, kill 5 people and be out of jail while you are still a teenager?

Yet that fixie guy in London (whose actions and attitude I don’t condone in any way) got how much?

A

[lahoski]

Charlie Alliston was sentenced to 18 months. He was 18 when he hit Kim Briggs.

The boy in the report is 15 years old and has received 4.5 years.

How would a longer sentence qualify as justice or be in the public interest?

[DuncanM]

That's not especially clear, but it implies that all 5 of those killed were voluntarily in a stolen car that was doing 88mph in a residential area and driven by a 15 year old? I don't want to victim blame, but that seems a little unwise to me. If they had survived, would they have been prosecuted on joint enterprise grounds?

[sojournermike]

We had some discussion at home on this, as I take a view that, to some real extent, all the dead had agreed to be passengers in the vehicle and knew the driver was underage and that it was stolen. I had little time for the reporting of ‘tributes’ on this basis. As sad as it is, I am pleased that no one else was killed or hurt, because that was a very likely conclusion.

I can’t really comment on the sentence, but if he had killed someone outside the car then I hope it would have been greater. Charlie Alliston also appeared to be behaving badly and, unfortunately for her and her family, killed an innocent passer by. Obviously not deliberate, but someone being hurt was a predictable consequence of his behaviour.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Other differences between the cases; this boy has admitted guilt, charlie alliston never accepted responsibility. That immediately alters the sentence given.
Age has a huge impact on sentencing.

[Gattopardo]

Disqualified from driving for seven years.  Can see that working.

[Gattopardo]

So who stole the car?

Comparison is that the chaps in the car knew it was stolen and the driver was 15.  88mph and hit a tree. No car/passenger compartment is going to survive.

Maybe if the occupants had been a mother or father the sentence would have been longer.

[DuncanM]

Comparison is that the chaps in the car knew it was stolen and the driver was 15.  88mph and hit a tree. No car/passenger compartment is going to survive.

And yet the driver survived and was unscathed enough to run away!
I'm not sure how you can give a driving ban to someone who too young to hold a license.  What happens, they are not allowed to apply for a provisional license for 7 years? 

[yoav]

A driving ban given to someone too young to legally drive usually starts from when they would be allowed to apply for a licence, i.e. aged 17. In this case, the ban would probably start only after they are released from detention. That’s what usually happens when a conviction leads to a prison sentence and a ban.

[Gattopardo]

So banning someone seems to work

[Jasmine]

There's clearly some who will have no sympathy for this young man. Personally, I can reasonably believe that he might learn from the horrific consequences of his actions. For those who don't see it, think of 5 people you know quite well. Not people you are related to, probably people who live nearby, and are reasonable mates with. At least well enough to hang about with. Now imagine that you are responsible for killing those 5 people. They aren't anonymous people that you had neve previously met. They are people who lived nearby, people whose mums know you, who know your mum. People with families who know where you live, who know your mum. He might be anonymous in court, but I can guarantee that he won't be in the area where he lived. The consequences of being a foolish ass will follow him for the rest of his life.