Will any witnesses come forward? I doubt it.....

Will any witnesses come forward? I doubt it.....

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beanbag

Original Poster:

7,346 posts

248 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_irelan...

Not that I condone gun crime, but even if I have no sympathy for the rapist and I doubt anyone will ever come forward as a witness against the shooters.

BBC article said:
A man shot in both legs in a paramilitary-style attack in Londonderry was awaiting sentencing for raping a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
Keith Burnside, 37, from Rosemount Gardens was shot when two masked men forced their way into his home at about 2315 BST on Monday.
Burnside was convicted in March of raping a girl in his car at Sandbank Cottages in 2000.
He was due to be sentenced for the attack shortly.
During the trial the court heard that his victim blocked the attack out of her mind for seven years before reporting it, after the accused smirked at her outside a nightclub.
A defence application was due to be heard in Londonderry Crown Court on Tuesday but was adjourned when the court was told of the attack.
Burnside is being treated in hospital for his injuries which are not life threatening.
Community worker Tommy McCourt said such incidents made people fearful of a return to violence. "It takes you back to the bad old days," he said.
"We believed that those days had passed and nobody wants to see this kind of thing happening again."
SDLP MLA Pat Ramsey also condemned the attack. "The people who carried out this shooting have no support from the local community and no place in a civilised society," he said.
The police said that those responsible were of slim build and wore tracksuits, baseball caps, and scarves over their faces.
The first man was 5ft 10ins and the second 6ft 2ins.
They want anyone who was in the area at the time and may have seen the men to contact them.

Davel

8,982 posts

265 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
Having two daughters, I have to say that I have no sympathy for the guy.

Hardly a cause to worry about and not a reason to worry about a return to the troubles.

Elskeggso

3,100 posts

194 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
beanbag said:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_irelan...

Not that I condone gun crime, but even if I have no sympathy for the rapist and I doubt anyone will ever come forward as a witness against the shooters.

BBC article said:
A man shot in both legs in a paramilitary-style attack in Londonderry was awaiting sentencing for raping a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
Keith Burnside, 37, from Rosemount Gardens was shot when two masked men forced their way into his home at about 2315 BST on Monday.
Burnside was convicted in March of raping a girl in his car at Sandbank Cottages in 2000.
He was due to be sentenced for the attack shortly.
During the trial the court heard that his victim blocked the attack out of her mind for seven years before reporting it, after the accused smirked at her outside a nightclub.
A defence application was due to be heard in Londonderry Crown Court on Tuesday but was adjourned when the court was told of the attack.
Burnside is being treated in hospital for his injuries which are not life threatening.
Community worker Tommy McCourt said such incidents made people fearful of a return to violence. "It takes you back to the bad old days," he said.
"We believed that those days had passed and nobody wants to see this kind of thing happening again."
SDLP MLA Pat Ramsey also condemned the attack. "The people who carried out this shooting have no support from the local community and no place in a civilised society," he said.
The police said that those responsible were of slim build and wore tracksuits, baseball caps, and scarves over their faces.
The first man was 5ft 10ins and the second 6ft 2ins.
They want anyone who was in the area at the time and may have seen the men to contact them.
And the rapist does then? I don't condone gun crime either, but I think he's missing the point here, it wasn't exactly an unprovoked attack on him.

AlexKP

16,484 posts

251 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
No - little sympathy, but this is a very worrying development.

This kind of vigilante justice in Northern Ireland harks back to some very dark days indeed.

superlightr

12,900 posts

270 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
so he was convicted but out waiting a sentence. Surley they would be on remand after being found guilty of an imprisonable offence?


At least the gun men waited until he was found guilty. Perhaps serve as a warning to others.


randomman

2,215 posts

196 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
VBRJ!

Or should that be VKCJ (vigalante knee cap justice)

Tony*T3

20,911 posts

254 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
victim waited 7 years before reporting it? Wonder what evidence he was convicted on.....?

Spiritual_Beggar

4,833 posts

201 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
Id be quite happy for people to criticise these shootings, saying there's no place for it in civilised culture.........if the community could rely on the police.

But they cant.

Sentences don't fit the crimes atm, and berieved families feel let down by a system that is more leniant on criminals than ever before!!!!

Remeber when Labour first came to power....remember the rhetoric;

"Tough on crime, tough on causes of crime"

Yeah right!

oobster

7,244 posts

218 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
One wonders if she WAS actually raped. Having been convicted by a jury of his peers you would have to say he probably did rape her but any number of other scenarios could have ended up with him in the dock.

The article says he smirked at her outside a nightclub - one could question who was outside the nightclub - him or her? (or both?). If we say they both were, could the 15yr old girl have had some drink in her, having been visiting other establishments before going to the nightclub? Could the sex have been entirely consential, only for the £ signs to light up a few years later (possible after pressure from her family/friends?) Perhaps a child was borne as a result of the encounter, and the guy balked at making maintenance payments resulting in her accusation?

As I say, any number of situations might have resulted in his conviction and since I am not in possesion of all the evidence & testimony I would have to put my faith in the justice system and say he was probably guilty. If he IS guilty then I can't say the shooting bothers me much.

If, on the other hand, he made a mistake of having sex with an underage and possibly drunk girl 9 years ago and it's came back to haunt him then he is surely due a fair degree of sympathy.

Office_Monkey

1,967 posts

216 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
Watched "Outlaw" (£3 from HMV, bargain!) the other day. I wonder how many people would actually carry out a vigilante attack on a criminal, rather than say they would.

Deva Link

26,934 posts

252 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
oobster said:
One wonders if she WAS actually raped. Having been convicted by a jury of his peers you would have to say he probably did rape her but any number of other scenarios could have ended up with him in the dock.
I thought that too when I saw this article. The way the ages are quoted makes it look worse. She was 15 then and he is 37 *now*.

superlightr

12,900 posts

270 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
Office_Monkey said:
Watched "Outlaw" (£3 from HMV, bargain!) the other day. I wonder how many people would actually carry out a vigilante attack on a criminal, rather than say they would.
if it were your own family and if justice is not done for a serious crime - then I would look into expressing my displeasure.

Nolar Dog

8,786 posts

202 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
oobster said:
The article says he smirked at her outside a nightclub - one could question who was outside the nightclub - him or her? (or both?). If we say they both were, could the 15yr old girl have had some drink in her, having been visiting other establishments before going to the nightclub? Could the sex have been entirely consential, only for the £ signs to light up a few years later (possible after pressure from her family/friends?) Perhaps a child was borne as a result of the encounter, and the guy balked at making maintenance payments resulting in her accusation?
I think you are running away with yourself there...

As I understand it the girl decided to report the rape seven years after it had allegedly happened because he smirked at her outside a nightclub.

As in: They recoginsed each other whilst outside a nightclub, he smirked at her knowing what he had done to her 7 years ago and she decided to teach him a lesson.

Kind of.

Sheets Tabuer

19,645 posts

222 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
You think it ever stopped?

WorAl

10,877 posts

195 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
They were obviously blind gunmen....they missed his head by a good couple of foot.

Not enough justice served there i feel, why isn't he dead? why should people like that be let out into the community? "I promise i'll not do it again"..."are you sure?"....."oh dead sure"...."ok you can go now"

Why not just "you are found guilty of rape, so i sentence you to...." shoot



Edited by WorAl on Tuesday 31st March 15:27

bazking69

8,620 posts

197 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
Rapists don't get my sympathy when they get attacked....

FoolOnTheHill

1,018 posts

218 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
REPOST!!!

Shoot him in the legs!!!

pokethepope

2,665 posts

195 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
So he was convicted of raping what was arguably a child at the time, yet he is allowed at home, with two children, whilst he is awaiting sentencing. Why the fk wasnt he in jail on remand?

Is this what we do now to free up prison cells, convict someone then let them go home until we can be bothered to pass a sentance, giving them ample opportunity to run away or commit again?

oobster

7,244 posts

218 months

Tuesday 31st March 2009
quotequote all
Nolar Dog said:
oobster said:
The article says he smirked at her outside a nightclub - one could question who was outside the nightclub - him or her? (or both?). If we say they both were, could the 15yr old girl have had some drink in her, having been visiting other establishments before going to the nightclub? Could the sex have been entirely consential, only for the £ signs to light up a few years later (possible after pressure from her family/friends?) Perhaps a child was borne as a result of the encounter, and the guy balked at making maintenance payments resulting in her accusation?
I think you are running away with yourself there...

As I understand it the girl decided to report the rape seven years after it had allegedly happened because he smirked at her outside a nightclub.

As in: They recoginsed each other whilst outside a nightclub, he smirked at her knowing what he had done to her 7 years ago and she decided to teach him a lesson.

Kind of.
Ah. I see what you mean.