18 June 2010

Craig Donellan gets 22 months

| johnboy
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The ABC brings the word that the kambah man who drove his car into Senior Constable Brian McAlonan has been sentenced to 22 months in prison:

A 22-year-old Canberra man who hit a police officer at a random breath testing unit then drove off will spend at least the next year in jail.

Craig Donellan of Kambah was driving with friends after drinking and smoking cannabis, when he came across a breath testing unit near the Cotter Reserve in 2007.

He accelerated, hitting Senior Constable Brian McAlonan, who was left with serious injuries.

Seems reasonable.

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georgesgenitals2:21 pm 22 Jun 10

This guy deserves to be on the inside. His actions are those of scum.

Oh poor diddums had to wait 3 years (I’m pretty sure the incident was less than 3 years ago) to see what was going to happen. It was devastating for him. Cry me a river. Due to his cowardly dog act, he effectively ended a man’s career and easily could have killed him.

He showed remorse for his actions? Showing remorse and feeling remorse aren’t necessarily the same thing.

Having said that, I hope your grub of a mate does his time and come out of prison a better man.

With all due respect funny number name guy, did not your numbskull mate knock over a cop with his car? That’s what people are ticked off about.

There’s no need to get in a huff with some inflated sense of self-rightousness because the details are not exactly correct. Getting things a little wrong isn’t a crime…….

Its funny how so many people are opinionated on someone they don’t even know,

Yes its fair to say that his punishment was not long enough but you would of had to been there for the entire duration of the matter to be able to say what is fair or not.

He was actually sentenced with 28 Months Protected Custody with a non parole period of 12 months.

This was sentence after 3 years of dragging court dates along, going into a trial where the jury was dismissed after 2 days due to the charges being downgraded.

I was friends with Craig and know him quite well.

To see him put through 3 years of waiting to see what was going to happen was devastating for him and I thought that the punishment was exactly what any other person in this exact situation would get. Yes I agree that the ruling was fair but it also took into account that Craig showed remorse for his actions and the 3 years of very strict living he had to go through to get there.

The Crown originally was pushing for the court to rule that he used a deadly weapon to cause actual bodily harm with intent.

What pisses me off is that the charges were not fair in the first place.

He should have got a much longer sentence for this cowardly act.

No doubt he and all two of his pinhead mates think he’s a bloody hero though.

longshanks said :

Instead of the usual response to this sort of post (e.g. “this d*ckhead deserves to be locked up for life/kneecapped/taken out and shot/etc.) I’d be interested to know if there’s anyone out there who has done something this stupid when they were younger and actually learnt their lesson?

If so, what did you do, why did you do it, and what stopped you from doing it again? Does the current approach to this sort of crime work? What is the likelihood that Craig Donellan will join the long list of repeat offenders in the DUI brigade? I mean sure, there has to be a sanction for such disregard for human life, but when the possibility of killing/maiming yourself and others is no deterrent, is the prospect of a year in jail going to be any more effective?

As I say, I’d be really interested to hear from anyone who has been in a similar position themselves…

One thing he won’t be doing for the next year is getting behind a wheel. Deterrence is only one facet of the judicial system. Rehabilitation may also be one, but so is punishment. This one is far from enough, knowing the victim and seeing what is has done to his life.

If he had’ve killed the man would your ideas be any different. This is a little beyond the ‘young and silly’ thing

goose said :

What sort of message does this send out to our community.
This redneck should have received a minimum 10 years for his efforts.

What message does it send? That sentences handed down by ACT Courts are hopelessly inadequate.

What sort of message does this send out to our community.
This redneck should have received a minimum 10 years for his efforts.

Like your MIGS, PB.

Pommy bastard1:19 pm 18 Jun 10

longshanks said :

I mean sure, there has to be a sanction for such disregard for human life, but when the possibility of killing/maiming yourself and others is no deterrent, is the prospect of a year in jail going to be any more effective?

The prospect of killing/maiming yourself and others may not be a deterrent, however the reality of a year in jail may hit home.

It depends where on the MIGS (Mully Index of Gross Stupidity) this kid falls.

It will actually be less than 22 months with time already served, and early parole.

Very soft.

22 months. Soft-Touch. ’nuff said.

Forget that… this bloke deserves a whole lot more than 22 months. The victim got a lifetime – any pathetic ‘lessons learnt’ dribble is worthless.

I know, in typical RA style lets all laugh off the use of ‘soft’ drugs in society and the drivers who couldn’t care less if they have a few drinks before their trip. Feel better? I don’t.

I’d also be interested to hear if anyone else from this site has done anything similar to getting pissed and stoned, before running over a cop.

Instead of the usual response to this sort of post (e.g. “this d*ckhead deserves to be locked up for life/kneecapped/taken out and shot/etc.) I’d be interested to know if there’s anyone out there who has done something this stupid when they were younger and actually learnt their lesson?

If so, what did you do, why did you do it, and what stopped you from doing it again? Does the current approach to this sort of crime work? What is the likelihood that Craig Donellan will join the long list of repeat offenders in the DUI brigade? I mean sure, there has to be a sanction for such disregard for human life, but when the possibility of killing/maiming yourself and others is no deterrent, is the prospect of a year in jail going to be any more effective?

As I say, I’d be really interested to hear from anyone who has been in a similar position themselves…

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