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Short Journalistic Court Reports.
Crown Court at Bradford (UK), 5th October, 2018
1. CARE HOME. XX (female 49) and XX (female 37) were today both given nine month sentences suspended for 12 months, each having pleaded guilty to ill treatment of a person who lacks capacity. His Honour Judge Jonathan Durham-Hall QC called the case troubling.
The Court was played covertly recorded footage of events which led to the two women being arrested and charged. The victim's family were given an opportunity to leave Court before the footage was played, but chose to remain.
The victim is a 60 year-old woman with significant, profound and highly complex medical and physical disabilities, who needs 24-hour, one-to-one care.
The women sentenced today were recorded feeding the victim or moving around the kitchen undertaking domestic tasks. One could be heard using gentle language
at one stage, yet she was feeding and interacting with the victim in a manner which would have made enjoyment of the meal impossible. At one stage in another
incident the victim's fingers were pried from the door. His honour said, "I have seen much worse, but I shouldn't have to see this at all should I?"
Judge Durham-Hall spoke of observing a chilling lack of compassion toward the victim.
2. Arson. Counsel for XX ( male 66) wondered whether a way to ensure his client was assessed for housing post release from prison would be to
compel those responsible for finding such accommodation to attend Court and explain to the judge why such an assessment had not taken place. His
Honour Jonathan Durham-Hall QC said he was not going to do that. His Honour spoke of the authorities as being trapped within their own protocols.
Mr X was arrested by police in Keighley in June of this year having thrown a brick through a window (where he, Mr X, lived), assaulted a member of
staff in the place where he (Mr X) lived, and having set a fire in his flat (Mr X's). Other residents were evacuated safely, and three fire engines
attended. Mr X pleaded guilty to a number of charges, including arson with reckless endangerment to life. Mr X was interviewed by police after it
was confirmed he had capacity.
Mr X had wanted to move to Skipton and get a cat. He is thought at the time to have stopped taking his medication for paranoid schizophrenia.
Helen Gavaghan. Published circa 18.40 BST, 05.10.2018.
Clarifications in brackets in the penultimate paragraph added by the editor on 07-10-2018.
The above two articles are advanced publication of items in Issue 4, Oct. - Dec., 2018 in Science, People & Politics ISSN 1751-598x
(online). Names of the defendants were removed at the editor's discretion, and no family, legal or informal request or pressure was brought to bear on the editor or shareholders.
The original article including names is stored offline with the publisher's archive, and will be destroyed by the publisher's executors at time of death, if that is at that
time legally permitted.
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