Absolute discharge in England.

Ranb

Penultimate Amazing
Ranb
Joined
Jul 25, 2003
Messages
11,325
Location
WA USA
I was reading about a man named Munir Hussain who was attacked by three men and ended up beating one of them severely. Hussain spent a year in prison while his attacker was given some sort of non-custodial release and went on to commit more crime eventually receiving an absolute discharge.

I would like to know more about absolute discharge in England. I have read claims that it is a license to commit crime; surely it is not that bad. thanks.

Ranb
 
I think this is the case you refer to:

In September 2009, Walid Salem, then 57, a criminal with more than 50 previous convictions,[6] was given a two year non-custodial supervision order to the charge of false imprisonment of the Hussain family, as he was considered unfit to plead due to brain damage caused by the attack by Munir and Tokeer Hussain.[13]
On 4 January 2009 Salem was arrested for a further five offences he was accused of committing after he had recovered from the attack. However On 21 December 2009 he received an absolute discharge because he was deemed unfit to plead.
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munir_Hussain_and_victims'_rights

And a Daily Fail article about the subsequent arrests and absolute discharge:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...damaged-burglar-got-decent-man-sent-jail.html

The offences were all for possession (stolen credit cards etc). Sounds to me like this bloke's criminal mates are using him to "look after" things now that he is brain damaged?
 
Last edited:
Ranb said:
I have read claims that it is a license to commit crime; surely it is not that bad. thanks.
Click to expand...

In one specific case it has been described as a licence to commit crime, the one Professor Yaffle has indicated. If that individual is nicked again - and I understand that he was - then he might find that it's a different story.
 
Sorry, I forgot to include a few links such as the Wikipedia link above. The Judge in Hussain's case made it clear why he got jail time. My question is less about the man assaulted by Hussain and more about how England treats violent people who are unfit to stand trial.

Ranb
 
Last edited:
Ranb said:
I was reading about a man named Munir Hussain who was attacked by three men and ended up beating one of them severely. Hussain spent a year in prison while his attacker was given some sort of non-custodial release and went on to commit more crime eventually receiving an absolute discharge.
Click to expand...

Two threads about this case from 2009, you participated in at least one of them. Forum search is a handy thing. :)

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162240

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162891

I would like to know more about absolute discharge in England. I have read claims that it is a license to commit crime; surely it is not that bad. thanks.

Ranb
Click to expand...

I'd like to have someone actually argue that. Absolute discharge, as I understand it, is simply a recognition that punishment would serve no useful purpose.

Wiki mentions a railway crash in 1892 where the signalman was found guilty of manslaughter. He was distressed and exhausted as his daughter had taken sick, and had died the previous day. He received an absolute discharge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirsk_rail_crash_(1892)
 
In the case of mental disorder (as opposed to the brain damage case above), if a person is found unfit to plead and also that they committed the act in question (ie guilt or innocence would be down to their mental state rather than whether they committed the act), they can be given "hospital orders" and also an appropriate restriction or supervision order. Absolute discharge is not the only option for these types of cases.

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/mentally_disordered_offenders/#a10
 
Last edited:
commandlinegamer said:
Two threads about this case from 2009, you participated in at least one of them. Forum search is a handy thing. :)
Click to expand...
I did a search on absolute discharge and got nothing relevant, but I knew the case sounded familiar. Thanks. :)

commandlinegamer said:
I'd like to have someone actually argue that. Absolute discharge, as I understand it, is simply a recognition that punishment would serve no useful purpose.
Click to expand...
I think preventing this guy from re-offending is more important than punishing him, especially if he really is too brain damaged to be tried. Why go to the extreme of an absolute discharge instead of placing him in some sort of custody to protect the public from a career criminal? Is it simply cheaper to drop him off on the street and hope he is too disabled to hurt anyone else?

Ranb
 
Came for the chlamydia... disappointed....

Possibly one solution is to hit him enough times in the head so he is incapable of reoffending.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom