You shouldn't be able to ask what punishment you get if you plead guilty. Simply asking that question should constitute a confession imo
He should be locked up. He's got previous and willing to plead guilty for a lighter sentence that makes him look more guilty. The justice system here is rubbish though.
I'm not sure of the circumstances if I'm honest but it is possible his defence have said "look it doesn't look good for you. If you plead not guilty there is a high chance you may do jail time. If you change your plea we might be able to agree to no jail time." I have no idea whether he's done it but based on his previous etc. I'd have thought he would have been playing with fire going to trial. I'd like to think i'd stand my ground if I was innocent but it's easy to say that when you're not in his predicament.
This happens all the time mate. It's known as a "goodyear" indication after a stated case when it became accepted practice. When a case is borderline between jail and another punishment the defence can ask the Judge for a goodyear indication before a plea is entered. ie if I plead can I escape jail? There are guidelines but Judges have a massive (though not wednesday massive) piece of elastic as to what is borderline. Depends if he has a game of golf that afternoon LoL
Pleaded to affray not violent disorder Or aggravated affray , CPS agreed to it which suggests they didn’t have a cast iron case of violent disorder against him , not going to get time for affray , community service probably
Implying confessions from someone trying to ascertain the possible outcomes of their trial? That would be bonkers.
He's pleaded guilty. Give the lad a break. He will get a punishment. I would not wish him any further ill will from anyone.
Wasnt he only 16 at the time? Sounds like there was a lot going off in the background. If you take out the footballer bit and changed it to a steady job elsewhere, a custodial sentence would be unlikely if you plead guilty.
I'm not wishing him ill will. I was on his side saying that the suggestion that inquiring about potential consequences of a guilty plea should be treated as a confession is absurd.
Do you really think so? It's not perfect, for sure. But it's head and shoulders above the justice system in about 95% of the rest of the world.
This is true! But having read a little but about Wilks' case, I'm inclined to lean towards the judge's assessment that sending him to prison would be completely futile.
You see how bad it is all the time. Only this week Tom Meighan avoided prison when he should have served a sentence.
As I said it's not perfect, especially with regards to the state of our prisons. We have a lot of learn from places like Holland and Norway on that front. However, the UK is a country in which you are pretty much guaranteed a fair trial, in which the police, the crown prosecution service and the courts are all genuinely impartial, and independent of each other and even more importantly, they are independent of the government. Also, you can be confident that nobody has bribed the judge to find you guilty. The vast majority of countries in the world work in the other way.
Would you feel the same if the crime was committed against you or yours? I think you would want the punishment to fit the crime however long ago it was committed.
That's a very difficult question to answer. While I'd like to think I'd be able to stay objective in such a situation, I admit it's unlikely. I'm always filled with awe at the relatives of murder victims who say they are able to forgive the killer. That must take immense fortitude.
