What does “8 months suspended for 12” mean? I suppose if she stays out of the UK, it means nothing, but if she were there, what would it mean.
All explained by the judge:
Fuller detail on the rationale for the sentence here;
Was that a reply to me? I was looking for the 1-2 sentence answer, not a video with extensive details. I’m pretty sure the real-life answer is that it means she should stay out of the UK for a while.
Anyway, i hope this verdict brings some sense of closure to the family of the boy who was killed.
The relevant bit is the final para of the sentencing remarks:
For the offence of causing the death of Harry Dunne by your
careless driving the sentence is 8 months imprisonment suspended
for 12 months. There will be no additional requirements. The
sentence means that if in the next twelve months you commit any
offence, whether or not it is of the same type for which I am
sentencing you today, you would find yourself before the court
again and it is likely that the sentence would be brought into
operation either in full or in part.
Suspended sentences are literally hanging over you. The court has sentenced you to jail but will not actually incarcerate you if you go forth and lead an honest life from this day hence. But if you do break the law then you not only get the punishment for that crime, you also get to go to jail for the original one. Generally, it’s a way to deal with one-time offenders who can be scared straight by the horror of getting a criminal record and the threat of jail if they screw up again.
In this case one can’t help but wonder if it’s not an elegant diplomatic solution to the problem that a jail sentence is unenforceable. Had the judge not suspended the sentence the UK government would be duty bound to make continual diplomatic representations to the US to extradite Sacoolas; representations which everyone involved would know were destined to be denied. This way the UK has no grounds to request extradition and the matter comes to a practical end now and a legal one in 12 months time.
Thanks!
That all makes sense. And honestly, while you are right that it’s a tidy legal result for the UK, it’s also a totally reasonable sentence for the offense, and about what I would expect for a similar offense (maybe plus some community service) in the US.
There may be no legal basis to do so, but i personally think the time for “can’t drive here” should start the next time she steps foot in the UK. They should force her to get used to cars on the other side of the road before she’s allowed behind a wheel again (in a place where the cars aren’t where her reflexes expect them to be).
Here I can’t agree with you. In general the UK is far too lenient with careless drivers who cause death. It is by no means rare for suspended sentences to be given to lethally incompetent drivers but I don’t think it’s reasonable that you can kill someone by failing to adequately control the ton or more of metal the license for which required you to pass a safe handling test and then retain your liberty.
But if it’s the same sentence that a non-diplomatic-immunity-protected person would get, then it is reasonable.
That certainly seemed to be what the Sentencing Council guidelines suggested, and the prosecuting counsel argued.
Oh, it’s reasonable that Sacoolas get the sentence anyone else would have got, absolutely. But I read @puzzlegal as saying that it’s a reasonable sentence to give anyone for killing someone through careless driving and… it’s not! Anyone who does that should be actually jailed and get a lifetime ban from driving.
It is a reasonable sentence for someone subject to the court, but she is not. Since she has no reason to return to the UK, it is the same as no penalty at all.
I missed this resolution but all I can say is THANK GOD the judicial system was allowed to freely proceed against all open and closed attempts to prevent it from continuing. It’s sad that the family was put through such a long and hellish ordeal to secure the simple right as having the killer of their son be brought to open court.