Was the guy “on the way” to the college when he was arrested? No? Then what is the relevance of your question?
Wouldn’t you think that it is hard to charge someone with attempted murder when there was no attempt to commit the murder?
They would have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
He was attempting to commit murder…they stopped him before he could actually pull the trigger. This is a weird point of law. If it were he and his buddy planning to muder they could be charged with conspiracy to commit. Surely there can be a charge for a lone killer?
A life sentence in the UK doesn’t usually mean that you spend the rest of your life in prison, to be clear. It does mean that you are on licence for the rest of your life, so any subsequent offence is dealt with as a parole breach, so straight back to prison. This guy will be eligible for parole after 8 years.
Okay, I laughed at this.
It’s Liam Lyburd and what he was planning to do that’s scary.
I admit it’s problematic. What do you do with someone who’s clearly a murderous sociopath, but who hasn’t yet murdered anyone?
No, he wasn’t. Read up on what “attempting to commit murder” means in English law.
The article makes no mention of the number of pipe bombs. Is five or less considered non-lethal?
Your reading comprehension is poor. I said that if it were he and a friend planning these crimes they could be charged with conspiracy to commit murder. I then wondered why a lone person couldnt be charged with some varient of conspiracy…knowing it takes two to conspire. Why shouldnt he be charged with attempt to commit murder since that is exactly what he was doing? Why should an actual act of violence have to happen? Why should an innocent life be put at risk? Of course the bar for indictment and conviction would have to be high.
I think it is very clear what you think of our gun laws. BTW did you know that possession of a bladed weapon on the street without good reason is a criminal offence here too, in fact, possession of any offensive weapon without good cause is a criminal offence. My God, what terrible people we are for trying to keep dangerous weapons off our streets!
Why do you think you have any greater knowledge of the UK and its laws than perhaps myself or any of the other UK posters?
Why do you fell the need to make any sort of comment whatsoever on our gun laws?
You are not invited to comment, your comments are wrong and unhelpful and not wanted.
You know nothing about what a UK life sentence means, and you are trying to comment on this with someone - myself who does know what it means, look for my posts and find out what I do for a living.
You know jack about our criminal justice system, yet you comment as if you are informed, you are not.
Do you think we just go around looking for controversial statement on social media and throw people in prison for what they say? Do you? do you really? For the whole of their natural lives? REALLY?
As it happens, I also have my own views on the US justice system, about what a life sentence means there, and US gun ownership laws, but guess what, I actually don’t know enough about these subjects to comment upon matters that concern a foreign country.
Oh I forgot - you didn’t realise you are a foreigner as far as I am concerned - and I forgot, you have the right to make uninformed and inaccurate statements about another country that is foreign to you.
Perspective or lack of it, say what
Because we don’t live in “1984” word and we don’t have “thoughtcrime” - yet. But with people like some respondents in this thread, we’re definitely moving towards it.
So you’re saying he’s telekinetic? He made pipe bombs, obtained a gun and ammo, knives and a machete all with the power of his mind?
About 4-inch long pipe bombs. Five of them. I am surprised he was not charged with possession of “weapons of mass destruction”.
This is far more than a thought crime. The guy was taking actual physical steps to commit murder. This is a prosecution that should be supported by people who favor the private ownership of guns. He…was…actually…planning…on…murdering…people. Its far better to stop him before he acted.
Now, there is room to debate whether he should be sent to prison or a mantal facility.
Size of half a stick of dynamite. Count in the metal shell that fragments. Wanna hold on in your lap when it detonates?
nm
I guess life in prison might be a tad harsh, but then - fuck him anyway. And I’m sure he’ll come out a much better person than he went in.
Well we can leave him get on with it can’t we, maybe he will learn from the tears of the mothers, that might be better then putting him in prison dontcha think?
Any other bright ideas?
For some basic understanding of legal principle, see this site. Its written by a laywer for non-lawyers, with simple explanations supported by cartoons and humour.
You want the section on “Attempt”. You should be able to follow it on its own, but it helps if you read the sections on Mens Rea and Actus Reus first.
In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen’s Peace. The phrase “more than merely preparatory” is specified by the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 to denote the fact that preparation for a crime by itself does not constitute an “attempted crime”.