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Murder not as serious as first thought

A man who beat his partner to death had his 10 year sentence reduced to eight years.

The Court of Appeals decided the murder was not as serious as first thought.

The justices said they were not unsympathetic to the judge's view that domestic violence was a serious problem in New Zealand and a "firm response is required...but consistency of sentencing for similar offending is also an important principle."

Obviously, its a far more important principle than a firm response.


Sure, the mother of six children died as a consequence of the murderous attack, but many people die from murder, and murderers are not always punished as severely, was the logic from the Court of Appeals. Indeed, they managed to find two other cases where people beating other people to death got lesser sentences, so they dropped the sentence on this one too.

It didn't occur to them that perhaps the other sentences should therefore be raised.

It just didn't occur to them.

Instead, they now think it appropriate to lower the sentence and allow this guy to be eligible for parole in just 4 years. Wow, that sends a message.

And I'm probably guilty of some heinous crime by calling this guy a murderer.

Apparently, it's only manslaughter when you beat some-one so badly they appear dead. You then cover up the evidence and leave them on the kitchen floor where they are not discovered for 30 hours, missing out on vital medical assistance. They die 3 days later. Beating them close to death, and then leaving them to die is only manslaughter. Maybe if he had more practice, he would have done the job properly? Oh well, he'll be back out soon.

The people in the justice system continue to get away with murder.

Related Link: Sorry for locking you up. Why don't you sue us now for stress?

PS: I'm all for this guy having a chance to be rehabilitated. That has nothing to do with the fact that the punishment needs to fit the crime. All indications here is that serious crime isn't taken seriously by the justice system. Even when the judge makes directions to lock this guy away, others are seeking to use the system to let the guilty go free.

Extract:
A man who beat his partner to death has had his 10-year sentenced reduced to eight years by the Court of Appeal today.

Joseph Kengike was found guilty of the manslaughter of Moana Kapua, the mother of his six children, and sentenced to 10 years in jail last July.

The assault happened after Kengike and Ms Kapua had been out drinking. Ms Kapua was discovered 30 hours later unconscious with bruising and haemorrhages to her head, a boot print on her abdomen and a fractured eye socket. She died in Auckland Hospital three days later.

The decision released today from the Court of Appeal by Justices Bruce Robertson, Tony Randerson and Ronald Young, said the case was almost identical with two other manslaughter cases.

Comments

  1. Just thought I'd point out that the link is broken - it has a "< / b r >" on the end.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The savants of the Appeal Courts must have received consultation from Billy Crystal's character Miracle Max in "The Princess Bride":

    "See, there's a big difference between mostly dead, and all dead."

    See, there's two years difference between mostly murdered, and all murdered.

    ReplyDelete
  3. They give you fancy phrases and complicated arguments but the reality is that our justice systems are not in the business of justice for victims any more. i often wonder how many people does someone have to kill before they are locked away for good.

    "...they managed to find two other cases..."

    Now they have 3 ensuring all future scumbag will get away easier for beating someone to death.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Our judicial system is beyond repair!

    ReplyDelete
  5. At bottom the problem is that we treat this kind of murder as manslaughter. Manslaughter should be for when somebody died accidentally because you were criminally careless, eg through your poor vehicle or firearms control. Instead, we allow people who kill someone in the commission of a violent crime that was extremely likely to result in someone's death to get away with murder.

    It's the law, not the justice system, that needs fixing. This prick should have been facing a murder charge right from the start.

    ReplyDelete

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