Reckless Attack
Another violent criminal from last year's London riots has finally been brought to court - this time a 17-year-old 'youth' who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Now I agree with the requirement for anonymity on most occasions in cases involving younger people - but there are circumstances where I think it is appropriate to name the accused - and this is one.
The young man who acted as part of a gang has been charged with the murder of a 68-year-old man - Richard Mannington Bowes.
Richard was the victim of a violent and unprovoked attack as he tried to put out a fire lit by the rioters - near his home in Ealing, west London.
I know Ealing well - I used to live and work there when I was an NUPE union official in London - I can picture exactly where the attack and much of the damage to property took place.
The 17-year-old has pleaded guilty to manslaughter - and his defence will presumably involve the same arguments as the recent case in Scotland - where Craig Roy was eventually found guilty of murdering his former schoolfriend, Jack Frew.
Roy's argument was that while he admitted killing Frew - he didn't set out to do so intentionally or behave so recklessly - that he could be found guilty of murder.
Because the crime of murder requires the prosecution to show deliberate intent on the part of the accused - or behaviour that was so obviously reckless and dangerous - that the consequences of the person's action could have or should have been foreseen.
Now if you ask me a young man - who may well be big and powerfully built despite being 17 - must have been able to foresee the likely consequences of launching a very violent an unprovoked attack - on a 68-year-old man.
Richard Mannington Bowes is not around to speak for himself - obviously - but it appears very likely that he fell to the ground and suffered a serious head injury - which ultimately caused his death in hospital after the attack.
To my mind any idiot could tell you - even a 17-year-old idiot - that violently attacking a much older person might well lead to their serious injury or even death.
In which case the charge of murder would be justified - but we shall see what happens.
