nick
September 3rd, 2009, 11:59 AM
OK so here's the story, its not nice:-
Two young brothers who brutally assaulted a nine-year-old boy and his 11-year-old uncle and left them for dead in a former pit town escaped trial for attempted murder today when prosecutors decided to accept their guilty plea on a lesser charge.
The boys, who are aged 10 and 12 but cannot be named for legal reasons, had been expected to go on trial today at Sheffield Crown Court but a full trial was averted after both decided to plead guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent.
The Crown Prosecution Service said that it had accepted the pleas to save the victims "from having to relive in court the shocking events of their ordeal" and pointed out that the two boys would still face the same maximum term of life imprisonment.
The attacks in April left their 11-year-old victim fighting for his life at the foot of a steep ravine near Doncaster, his unconscious body bleeding from a slashing head wound and half-submerged in the waters of a former brick quarry.
His nine-year-old friend and nephew was found wandering the streets of Edlington, South Yorkshire, dazed, covered in mud and bleeding from head to foot with a knife wound to his arm. Both boys had also been burnt with cigarettes.
The pair also pleaded guilty today to robbing one of the boys of a mobile phone and the other of cash. They also admitted two counts of intentionally causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Read the whole story here (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6818418.ece)
So my question to you all is what is an appropriate sentence for these 2 boys? Do you believe it will ever be safe to release them?
Two young brothers who brutally assaulted a nine-year-old boy and his 11-year-old uncle and left them for dead in a former pit town escaped trial for attempted murder today when prosecutors decided to accept their guilty plea on a lesser charge.
The boys, who are aged 10 and 12 but cannot be named for legal reasons, had been expected to go on trial today at Sheffield Crown Court but a full trial was averted after both decided to plead guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent.
The Crown Prosecution Service said that it had accepted the pleas to save the victims "from having to relive in court the shocking events of their ordeal" and pointed out that the two boys would still face the same maximum term of life imprisonment.
The attacks in April left their 11-year-old victim fighting for his life at the foot of a steep ravine near Doncaster, his unconscious body bleeding from a slashing head wound and half-submerged in the waters of a former brick quarry.
His nine-year-old friend and nephew was found wandering the streets of Edlington, South Yorkshire, dazed, covered in mud and bleeding from head to foot with a knife wound to his arm. Both boys had also been burnt with cigarettes.
The pair also pleaded guilty today to robbing one of the boys of a mobile phone and the other of cash. They also admitted two counts of intentionally causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Read the whole story here (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6818418.ece)
So my question to you all is what is an appropriate sentence for these 2 boys? Do you believe it will ever be safe to release them?