Legal Mumbo Jumbo
As many people will know Stephen Lawrence - a young black man was fatally stabbed at a bus stop - in an unprovoked attack by a group of white youths in 1993.
But what I don't follow or agree with is the logic of the judge's summing up - because it seems to me that the state of the law is terribly flawed - when it comes to the issue of 'intent'.
The trial judge told the jury that the two accused could be found guilty if they were party to Mr Lawrence's killing - even if they did not strike the fatal blow.
The judge went on to say that 'manslaughter' should only be considered - if the jury found the pair not guilty of murder.
but first of all the jury had to consider whether the two defendants were present at the time of the attack - and participated in the attack on Stephen Lawrence.
Fair enough - because if they weren't there at the scene, then clearly they could not have been guilty of any crime.
The judge also advised the jury that if at least one member of the group intended to kill or cause serious harm to Mr Lawrence - then the attackers would be guilty of murder.
But on the other hand if they intended to cause injury falling short of serious bodily harm - then the group would be guilty of only the much lesser charge of 'manslaughter'.
Now given that the deceased can't testify - and that the accused will always say that they didn't mean to kill their victim.
How does the average jury decide that the killer really just meant to injure the person - perhaps seriously perhaps not - as opposed to committing murder and taking their life?
Someone who wields a knife against another human being is clearly behaving very dangerously and recklessly - so to my mind the the question of intent becomes blurred.
So it seems to me that unless there are very particular and unusual circumstances - such as a knife fight between two people - that the person doing the attacking should normally be guilty of murder.
Especially if the person being attacked is unarmed and otherwise completely innocent - as was the case with Stephen Lawrence - and many other victims of this kind of knife crime.
To most sensible people a few years in jail for 'manslaughter' is a ridiculous punishment - for recklessly taking an innocent person's life.
'I didn't mean to kill anyone' is a pathetic defence - but one that seems to prevail far too often - as in the recent case of Reamonn Gormley.
And there are so many examples of this happening on a routine basis - that there must be a strong argument for the law on 'manslaughter' to be reviewed.
