UK NEWS

TEENAGE BOY GUILTY OF GOTH MURDER

Brendan Harris,15, was found guilty of murder today

Thursday March 27,2008

By Emily Garnham for express.co.uk

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(21)

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy was today found guilty of kicking and stamping a young woman to death simply because she was dressed as a Goth.

Brendan Harris was today convicted of murdering 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster as she begged him and four other youths to stop beating her boyfriend.

Jurors at Preston Crown Court heard how the vicious assault was completely unprovoked and the two victims from Bacup, Lancashire, singled out only because they looked different.

Miss Lancaster, a gap year student, died from serious head injuries two weeks after the attack in Stubbylee Park, Bacup, in the early hours of August 11 last year, while her boyfriend Robert Maltby survived the horrific ordeal.

A jury of nine men and three women found Harris,15, guilty of murder within hours of retiring.

Sophie Lancaster, 20, was brutally murdered in a local park

After the verdict judge Anthony Russell QC lifted an order banning identification of Harris and Ryan Herbert, 16, who had pleaded guilty to Miss Lancaster’s murder.

Brendan Harris had previously denied the murder charge but pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Maltby after drinking two litres of cider, a bottle of Stella Artois lager and “quite a lot of” peach schnapps.

Ryan Herbert admitted murdering Miss Lancaster before his trial. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting her boyfriend.

Sophie's death is a tragedy for a society which in the past has prided itself on its tolerance.

Sylvia Lancaster

Miss Lancaster's mother Sylvia spoke of the loss of her "adoring and adorable daughter" and expressed her sadness over the many lives that Sophie's murder had ruined.

“Sophie’s death was a tragedy in so many ways. First, obviously, I have lost an adoring and adorable daughter. She was intelligent, brave, courageous and had a social conscience beyond her years.

“Her death has also ruined the lives of those responsible as well as the lives of their families."

She added: “On a wider scale it is a tragedy for a society which in the past has prided itself on its tolerance.

“I am convinced Sophie was killed simply because of the way she looked. She did not necessarily conform to the ideals of those who took her life.

“If we are to make any sense of Sophie’s death, perhaps we should see it as an opportunity to examine how all of us, particularly younger people, can become blinkered. I believe that today, more than ever, we need to show respect, compassion and tolerance for those whose appearance and culture differs from our own.

16-year-old Ryan Herbert who pleaded guilty Sophie's murder

“I would like to thank the officers of the Lancashire Police force whose professionalism brought this case to trial and whose sensitivity has been a source of great comfort to me from the day Sophie died.”

3RD GENERATION YOBS

28.03.08, 1:22pm

These are yobs that have produced yobs, that have produced more yobs. This has been going on for the last 40 years. Each generation getting worse than the last, and actually producing more offspring. You don't need to be a mathematician to realise that these yobs are multiplying at an alarming rate, all paid for by the tax payers of the UK. They are getting nastier and more violent as each year passes, with no consequences to stop them. I know someone who works in an inner London school who has told me about these kids, they start in the nursery, which is attached to the infants school,
they have never seen a book, they can't use cutlery, and their vocabulary is virtually like stone age grunts, they have no manners and no idea how to behave. If you have to go back to basics with these kids then you are neglecting the bright kids, who are gradually brought down by the yobs kids, which is not fair, there should be early assessments of this type of child the teachers know who they are, and they should be civilised in a seperate unit first, before ever being introduced into main stream education. Evene if that means beating the little monsters into submission, remember they are not normal kids as you and I know them, they are ferral and if not harshly civilised will just get worse with each new generation.

• Posted by: Rosw • Report Comment

YOU ARE RIGHT FIREOWL

28.03.08, 12:33pm

We spend milions in prisons educating and rehabilitating prisoners that will never reform.
It is inbuilt into some criminals personality.
It is time the state realised that strong action is overdue.
We need to bring back harsh punishments for young people that offend and capital punishment should be re instated for the most vioent or the criminals that prey on children, elederly or other vunerable groups.

• Posted by: abuela • Report Comment

WE NEED TO GO BACK 50 YEARS

28.03.08, 12:12pm

This sort of crime would not have happened 50 years ago, if it did, it was rare. The wrong people have made changes in society for the worse. They said it was progress in human evolution. The word "Borstal" sent shivers down your spine, never mind doing time in one, that was done away with, the fear of the cane was also a deterrence, that was also done away with, teachers in suits (Authority) was done away with. So what are you left with? A gun with no bullets. These stupid people that run our lives need to be strung up along with the scum that murdered that young woman. Rehabilitation is a joke, it doesn't work! The two that killed Jamie Bulger are out, and one of them is still as evil, still commiting crime with his new identity. We need harsh tactics to win the battle on crime, and a tough Government to boot.

• Posted by: fireowl • Report Comment

HANG THESE SCUM..

28.03.08, 10:58am

...and jail the parents too!!
Alas I dream...nothing will change ...the liberal do gooders will prevail.
At the very least these scum should not be allowed out of jail and the parents who bring these vermin into the world should be punished for letting their children become this way.

• Posted by: Konan • Report Comment

HOW DID HE GET GET TO THIS STATE?

28.03.08, 8:46am

How did he (and the vast amount of similar young criminals) get to this state (position)?

Obviously parents play a major part, obviously the poor state of our educational system plays a part.

Dont know this one!

but you will find that the vast majority of these types of young criminals have come to the notice of the CJ sytem dozens, often hundreds of times and occasions (as did their parents) - how have they been dealt with punished - they havent - they will all have been time and time and time again been monitored by p.c "oddities".

They are children so when their criminal activities have been accounted for, reasoned then excused they obviously continue their activities.

When criminals have been to prison, get released and then continue their criminal activities - pc oddities then identify that "Priison sentences dont work".

When they go to prison they are really past changing or curing its the pre-prison dealing with criminals that is the MAJOR problem (including those involved in the CJ system) -
al very well criticising these two boys but there are far more to blame for their criminal development than them!

• Posted by: nowyouknow • Report Comment