King hit outcome lets Canberra down again

slashdot said :

Dork said :

In regards to what Canberra should do, even though it’s not the clubs problem. I believe it’s in their best interest to come up with a solution before one is forced on them. ID scanners have been suggested on a lot of online forums/blogs as an alternative to the NSW laws.

Yes because we want to make it even easier for people to steal our ID. I have no idea how clubs can scan IDs and meet the requirements of the Privacy Act.

All of our sports clubs do this already for members guests. You scan your ID in order to be signed in by a member. Not sure what the big deal is. I’ve been to The Alex (big pub in Alexandra Hills, QLD) and have had to scan my ID and have my photo taken before getting in. This was about 3 years ago and my identity remains unstolen.

I wonder if his girlfriend is still with him. I would hope not as he seems to have domestic violence written all over him.

Hang on, I know of this moron. He thretened to punch me on the bus once because he forgot his stop and expected me to tell him where it was. He didn’t ask me to tell him, he just expected me to read his mind and remind every passenger where they should get off.

astrojax said :

gizmo1 said :

Lesson, defend yourself (if you get the opportunity), bugger the consequences cause odds are you can pretty much do what you like.

i gather the concept of these ‘cowards punches’ (the new nomenclature) is that there is little provocation and no time for self defence. not much of a lesson, then.

The new nomenclature was not needed. If they want to use an alternative name, then one was already in use – ‘sucker punch’. As in ‘that sucker punching bitch should have been given a custodial sentence’.

astrojax said :

that said, i have no idea of this offender’s personal circumstances or history, so perhaps in his infinite wisdom, this actually was an appropriate sentence by the learned magistrate?

Apparently BOTH of his parents are cops. He most certainly should know better. The sentence appears to be inadequate.

Skidd Marx said :

Check out his FB profile. Dude is a complete sack.

I was heartened to know we have no mutual friends. What’s atrocious, though, is that some 1300 people have seen fit to have him on their friends list. Surely at least a quarter of them would know about the conviction now and not be so close to him as to be proper friends in real life. Plus the fact he seems to have been a bastard before this.

I cut my own list down to just over a 1000 for crimes as terrible as someone posting more than three photos of their dog, inviting me to Farmville et al or talking about My Kitchen Rules. Why do people want to be associated with a criminal dropkick?

I’ve never coward-punched anyone, but these sagas only confirm to me how the more mean you are, including ruining someone’s life through violence, the greater the popularity you can maintain. A majority may hate you (if they figure out who you are, which they usually won’t). But you attract enough people with your dropkickery who like to be around you, even if online.

What’s the difference between maiming a guy permanently for life and sexually assaulting or raping a young woman?

The latter seems to get you five to eight years behind bars, but even with permanent physical injury (including brain damage) you struggle to get more than three months periodic detention for the former. I’m yet to see a cogent reason as to why the level of psychological suffering and trauma is measured differently by the courts, not to mention the fact that serious assault victims are more likely to be physically incapacitated in the long-term or permanently.

The victims and their families suffer just as much in either case, so why the discrepancy in the punishment? I think we punish young men who are victims of crime, merely because their assailants are of the same gender. David Rice (gave his victim a permanent head disfigurement) and this Orry Kuzma dropkick got periodic detention, and Logan Dunlop and John Totini (inflicted a $30,000 orthodontic bill after hitting the wrong man) “copped” no jail at all. You can search the Canberra Times for these horrific stories (both for the crimes and horrendous sentencing knock-ons).

I think our judiciary adheres to a watered-down concept of “boys will be boys”, except usually it’s one narcissistic man ruining the life of an innocent other. It is high time that the judicial chivalry ends and we treat victims with some semblance of equality by bring assault penalties up to speed.

johnboy said :

In regards to what Canberra should do, even though it’s not the clubs problem. I believe it’s in their best interest to come up with a solution before one is forced on them. ID scanners have been suggested on a lot of online forums/blogs as an alternative to the NSW laws.

Perhaps I’m missing something but how are ID scanners going to prevent this sort of assault? All they do is tell you who’s entered an establishment, and considering most of the one-punch assaults happen outside in the public places I believe ID scanners would be irrelevant.

slashdot said :

If we are only getting weekend detention, I suggest we go out and king hit judges and MLAs and see how long the current laws and sentencing are deemed adequate.

Sounds reasonable if you have nothing on for the next few weekends. I prefer camping in the summer months…

Dork said :

In regards to what Canberra should do, even though it’s not the clubs problem. I believe it’s in their best interest to come up with a solution before one is forced on them. ID scanners have been suggested on a lot of online forums/blogs as an alternative to the NSW laws.

Yes because we want to make it even easier for people to steal our ID. I have no idea how clubs can scan IDs and meet the requirements of the Privacy Act.

If we are only getting weekend detention, I suggest we go out and king hit judges and MLAs and see how long the current laws and sentencing are deemed adequate.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

You do all understand that if he had received a significantly longer sentence, it would, in all likelihood, be overturned on appeal as it would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences? Probably, not that would have required giving it a little more thought than the knee jerk ‘hang-em high’ which is so much quicker than reading judgements etc. plus it’s quicker so you can get back to catching up on episodes of the Bolt Report on youtube.

So because the judiciary has been useless in the past it should continue to be useless? If that isn’t the worst bit of circular logic, and further proof that the government should force the judges hands. Introduce mandatory minimums for these acts.

I am sick of the rights of the perpetrator being the only thing that MLAs and Judges care about. Poor didums had a bad childhood so he shouldn’t go to gaol. Stuff justice, stuff the victim, stuff society and everyone’s general rights to live without threats of violence and theft. No lets make sure that the perpetrator has his rights protected.

Dork said :

In regards to what Canberra should do, even though it’s not the clubs problem. I believe it’s in their best interest to come up with a solution before one is forced on them. ID scanners have been suggested on a lot of online forums/blogs as an alternative to the NSW laws.

This should have happened years ago, agree with you totally. Clubs have installed the technology, not reason why all licenced premises should not do the same. The smart thing as you said is for them to agree on measures such as this very quickly, and implement it. 7 day retention of data etc. and sufficient controls on who can access the data etc. You never know it may help curb the under age drinking games that seem to go on as well. At least there will be some sort of record of who is going into a premises, which should help with identification later on. At the moment they really don’t have much except for some CCTV footage which isn’t the best.

Sympathies to the victim and their family. At some point I think the public should be able to have a magistrate sacked. The numerous excuses they come up with really does wear thin. I don’t think anyone would agree that justice has been served in this sentencing.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

At first blush, it does seem lenient. Which is why people should take a deep breath, wait until there is a judgement to read, consider the facts and then post something intelligent rather than the usual ‘herp derp hang em high, crush them into a cube, they gave the judge sexual favours’ nonsense that usual follows the publishing of a sentence on this site.

You’re new here?

IP

Check out his FB profile. Dude is a complete sack.

Tooks said :

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Tooks said :

colourful sydney racing identity said :

You do all understand that if he had received a significantly longer sentence, it would, in all likelihood, be overturned on appeal as it would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences? Probably, not that would have required giving it a little more thought than the knee jerk ‘hang-em high’ which is so much quicker than reading judgements etc. plus it’s quicker so you can get back to catching up on episodes of the Bolt Report on youtube.

Although I know his name, I wouldn’t know Bolt if I ran over him. How about you write something constructive instead of smug, pompous attempts at intellectual superiority. You fool no one.

Okay, so tell me, what would have been the first thing this guy’s lawyers would have done if he had received a lengthy custodial sentence, which would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences? And what would have been the outcome?

You’re absolutely right that they would appeal and I think most people are aware of that. Surely you can understand why people are venting though? You made a good point earlier that we haven’t read the judgment and we dont have his reasoning for imposing this sentence, but on the face of it, it seems unreasonably lenient, don’t you reckon?

At first blush, it does seem lenient. Which is why people should take a deep breath, wait until there is a judgement to read, consider the facts and then post something intelligent rather than the usual ‘herp derp hang em high, crush them into a cube, they gave the judge sexual favours’ nonsense that usual follows the publishing of a sentence on this site.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Tooks said :

colourful sydney racing identity said :

You do all understand that if he had received a significantly longer sentence, it would, in all likelihood, be overturned on appeal as it would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences? Probably, not that would have required giving it a little more thought than the knee jerk ‘hang-em high’ which is so much quicker than reading judgements etc. plus it’s quicker so you can get back to catching up on episodes of the Bolt Report on youtube.

Although I know his name, I wouldn’t know Bolt if I ran over him. How about you write something constructive instead of smug, pompous attempts at intellectual superiority. You fool no one.

Okay, so tell me, what would have been the first thing this guy’s lawyers would have done if he had received a lengthy custodial sentence, which would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences? And what would have been the outcome?

You’re absolutely right that they would appeal and I think most people are aware of that. Surely you can understand why people are venting though? You made a good point earlier that we haven’t read the judgment and we dont have his reasoning for imposing this sentence, but on the face of it, it seems unreasonably lenient, don’t you reckon?

colourful sydney racing identity said :

You do all understand that if he had received a significantly longer sentence, it would, in all likelihood, be overturned on appeal as it would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences?

And that would have been as equally wrong as the short sentence he got, and therefore would have raised the ire of many people too. But there again, we’re talking about the actual sentence he got, not your imaginary hypothesis. So what’s your point?

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Probably, not that would have required giving it a little more thought than the knee jerk ‘hang-em high’ which is so much quicker than reading judgements etc. plus it’s quicker so you can get back to catching up on episodes of the Bolt Report on youtube.

Is this “bolt report” something you personally watch to get your dander up? I’ve not heard of it. Would you like a ladder, to help you get down off that high horse?

Instead of letting these thugs out on holiday after their excruciating ordeal in front of the magistrate, why not put them back to work and let the proceeds of their labor pay their victim’s living and medical expenses for a term of sentence appropriate. Why does the victim now have to pay a lawyer, out of no fault of his own to get compensation for an crime against him by a total stranger? The crooks get away with anything, while the victims have their lives destroyed for no good reason and they get nothing to help them continue with life. Whilst I am glad the victim survived this attack, I empathize with his future and how difficult things are going to get. Criminals are treated WAY too nicely by the system that is supposed to punish them!!!!! What is the point of a law that isn’t enforced properly?

Tooks said :

colourful sydney racing identity said :

You do all understand that if he had received a significantly longer sentence, it would, in all likelihood, be overturned on appeal as it would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences? Probably, not that would have required giving it a little more thought than the knee jerk ‘hang-em high’ which is so much quicker than reading judgements etc. plus it’s quicker so you can get back to catching up on episodes of the Bolt Report on youtube.

Although I know his name, I wouldn’t know Bolt if I ran over him. How about you write something constructive instead of smug, pompous attempts at intellectual superiority. You fool no one.

Okay, so tell me, what would have been the first thing this guy’s lawyers would have done if he had received a lengthy custodial sentence, which would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences? And what would have been the outcome?

colourful sydney racing identity said :

You do all understand that if he had received a significantly longer sentence, it would, in all likelihood, be overturned on appeal as it would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences? Probably, not that would have required giving it a little more thought than the knee jerk ‘hang-em high’ which is so much quicker than reading judgements etc. plus it’s quicker so you can get back to catching up on episodes of the Bolt Report on youtube.

Although I know his name, I wouldn’t know Bolt if I ran over him. How about you write something constructive instead of smug, pompous attempts at intellectual superiority. You fool no one.

You do all understand that if he had received a significantly longer sentence, it would, in all likelihood, be overturned on appeal as it would be a significant departure from sentences for similar offences? Probably, not that would have required giving it a little more thought than the knee jerk ‘hang-em high’ which is so much quicker than reading judgements etc. plus it’s quicker so you can get back to catching up on episodes of the Bolt Report on youtube.

The proposed laws in nsw have some good aspects to them but also punish the majority of people who do the right thing. First can I ask what is worse king hitting someone while your under the influence or while your straight? The new laws implement a minimum mandatory 2 year custodial sentence if the person is drunk however if the person isn’t under the influence there is no minimum mandatory sentence.

The laws affect some businesses and favour others. The casino can still sell alcohol after 3am but other establishments are being forced to stop service. Bottle shops will have to shut at 10pm.

These new proposed laws are punishing the wrong people. If Barry O Farrell had half a brain all he had to do to fix the problem is pass tough laws on violence with a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years. I guarantee you after a few of your mates going to gaol for violence people would stop committing these stupid acts of violence.

gizmo1 said :

Lesson, defend yourself (if you get the opportunity), bugger the consequences cause odds are you can pretty much do what you like.

i gather the concept of these ‘cowards punches’ (the new nomenclature) is that there is little provocation and no time for self defence. not much of a lesson, then.

the lesson should be writing to your local mla to have the government put some pressure on the judiciary to award penalties more in line with community expectations. merely voicing displeasure on a (albeit most excellent and influential) web site is insufficient.

that said, i have no idea of this offender’s personal circumstances or history, so perhaps in his infinite wisdom, this actually was an appropriate sentence by the learned magistrate?

I’m guessing the victim can lodge civil action against the attacker for financial losses relating to the medication, loss of work, income or future income. No mention of them doing that though.

I suppose the fact that he is out means that the friends and family of the victim can have a full and frank exchange of views with him. Preferably with an baseball bat.

Yet in today’s paper we have this story

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/is-the-act-sending-too-many-criminals-to-jail-20140123-31a4i.html

Go figure.

Typical of the court system in the ACT. Having been in a similar situation, although the magistrate was a different chap, I have been left with very little faith in the what is claimed to be the ACT legal system.
It has been made abundantly clear in the last few years anyone can beat the crap out of someone, wait to go to court and unless they have grievously injured or killed someone, get off scott free. Even if the worst case happens, the magistrates seem to be totally gutless and unwilling to actually do their job. It will be interesting to see what happens when this happens to the child of one of our so called legal eagles. Bet the little toad gets the book thrown at them meanwhile us normal people just have to put up with being shafted.
Lesson, defend yourself (if you get the opportunity), bugger the consequences cause odds are you can pretty much do what you like.
Having said that, these “king hit specialists” need a thrashing with a stock whip……just for starters.
Would be nice to have a legal system that at least sentences people with a suitable punishment for the crime. BWHAHAHAHA yeah right

MERC600 said :

Ah,,, Judge Higgins has gone, but his legacy lives on.

Can’t blame the judges for this one. I believe it was heard in the Magistrates Court.

Let’s see, a serious, unprovoked assault causing serious permanent injury and this is the sentence? I’d like to read the judgement before commenting in any detail, but I can’t see how such a light sentence can be deemed acceptable by anyone with a modicum of common sense.

This kind of assault sickens me. This sentence sickens me almost as much.

This is terrible. What the Mother said about this incident made me super sad. This result makes me super angry.

In regards to what happened with the new legislation in Sydney, not a fan. I think there are more effective ways of dealing with it, but this is what happens when the public call for action.

The difficult thing about these type of laws, is that they implement many solutions at once, which makes it harder to pinpoint what is effective and what’s not. It may well work, but at significant cost, and it punishes the many people doing the right thing. If there was a more effective solution it’s worthwhile investigating, they haven’t done that though.

In regards to what Canberra should do, even though it’s not the clubs problem. I believe it’s in their best interest to come up with a solution before one is forced on them. ID scanners have been suggested on a lot of online forums/blogs as an alternative to the NSW laws.

I’ve said before, the judiciary is all about looking after the bad guy – in effect, he lays their golden egg.

The victim is just an unpleasant necessity to proceedings and the sentence reflects how highly the judiciary values you.

This crime sickens me to the core. Anybody who engages in this type of assault should be spending the rest of their worthless life in prison – rotting in a small dank cell.

Alas, nothing is going to be done any time soon, as the Government says it’s the establishment’s job, the establishment says it’s the police, and the police point at the Government again. It’s a cycle where nobody wants to step up and take responsibility or work together, meanwhile more and more people are having their lives destroyed because of this senseless act.

On the topic, I’d be keen to hear people’s opinions on the related NSW law changes in the last couple of days…

So NSW go completely overboard with their proposed legislation and we are left with this crap.

Isn’t there a middle ground where these d***heads get a decent stretch at AMC instead of being hit with the wet lettuce of the ACT justice system?

Ah,,, Judge Higgins has gone, but his legacy lives on.

If all he is going to get is 3 months weekend detention. Can we, the taxpayers, at least send him the bill for his victims medical needs.

Sadly, most offenders know, or quickly learn, that weekend detention is massively under resourced. This means, if you turn up at 4:58 on Friday afternoon, chances are it will already be full.
You will then be sent home.
Sadly, this loser will spend very little time in any form of detention.
The victims are the only ones being punished here.