Horror and devastation

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A former Royal Marine is starting a 21-year jail term for mowing down dozens of Liverpool football fans in a “truly shocking” act that “defies ordinary understanding”.

Paul Doyle, 54, bowed his head as he was sentenced at Liverpool crown court where victims and their families watched, some in tears, from the public gallery.

Judge Menary said Doyle had caused “horror and devastation on a scale not previously experienced by this court”.

Merseyside police said it was a “miracle” that no one was killed when the father of three used his vehicle “as a weapon” in a moment of rage at a victory parade in the city on 26 May.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... paul-doyle

And so it was: a moment of rage. Nobody has pretended he went there with the intention of doing it. He lost control of himself, he launched into a rage and I imagine he was terrified, the consequence was mayhem and a ridiculous amount of suffering to far too many other people.

Nothing, in my opinion, justifies him even being in court much less sentenced. What he did should not be dealt with as criminal, it was a mental disturbance. He should have been offered effective help from the first time it happened to him, not handed a 21 year jail sentence after a lifetime of untreated mental instability.

[Bryn Mawr]

The only time he was terrified was after he had been arrested and he realised just what he had done in his rage.

I agree he was out of control, I would not be surprised if his rages were a frequent occurrence but, at this point, the alternative would be Broadmore at His Majesty's Pleasure - the picnic must be protected from such a he.

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Terrified was merely my speculation. Rage was my statement copied from the report, I'm quite sure he had no intention of becoming raged and then there it was, like a light switch as the article quoted.

That is not something which should have a criminal consequence, it requires treatment - and if the condition puts others at risk then Broadmoor, as you say, is the place for the treatment to be provided. It's an option: If two medical practitioners testify that the defendant has a mental disorder requiring hospital treatment, the judge can issue a Section 37 Hospital order. This sends the offender to a hospital instead of prison. That's a long way from 21 years and in my opinion should have happened at all of his previous convictions for rage violence. What possible benefit will he ever get from prison?