Stoned killer van driver jailed?

Question

A man who deliberately drove his van into a cyclist while high on cannabis has been jailed for life.

The Old Bailey heard that Malachi Adam-Smith, 20, had smoked so much "skunk" that he had brought on a temporary mental illness.

The court accepted his plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/12022007/397/stoned-killer-van-driver-jailed-0.html
He should have been charged with murder,yet he only got done for manslaughter,what is the legal system coming to?

Answer 1

i am getting absolutely sick of the court cases i hear of...

a. inconsistent and pathetic sentenses given to murders, rapists, paedophiles etc!!
b. my mate did work experience for a newspaper and got to go to 11 court proceeding - how many of them adjourned for silly reasons? 11!! where is tax payers money going??
c. also - for life should mean - FOR LIFE!! why create a term that wont even be lived up to?! all criminals know this, they never get the maximum sentence they should and when they are in there they seem to ammass all these human rights!!

IF you live outside of the law then the law shouldn't be there to protect you!
IF you damage or take away someones life then you shouldn't expect others to protect your human rights

Answer 2

Life in prison - WITHOUT parole. I supported capital punishment for a long time, but the more I learned about it, the more I came to oppose it. In the end, several factors changed my mind: 1. By far the most compelling is this: Sometimes the legal system gets it wrong. In the last 30 years in the U.S., over 100 people have been released from death row because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. These are ALL people who were found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Unfortunately, DNA evidence is not available in most cases. No matter how rare it is, the government should not risk executing one single innocent person. Really, that should be reason enough for most people to oppose it. If you need more, read on: 2. Because of higher pre-trial expenses, longer trials, jury sequestration, extra expenses associated with prosecuting a DP case, and the appeals process (which is necessary - see reason #1), it costs taxpayers MUCH more to execute prisoners than to imprison them for life. 3. The deterrent effect is questionable at best. Violent crime rates are actually higher in death penalty jurisdictions. This may seem counterintuitive, and there are many theories about why this is (Ted Bundy saw it as a challenge, so he chose Florida – the most active execution state at the time – to carry out his final murder spree). Personally, I think it has to do with the hypocrisy of taking a stand against murder…by killing people. The government fosters a culture of violence by saying, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ 4. There’s also an argument to be made that death is too good for the worst criminals. Let them wake up and go to bed every day of their lives in a prison cell, and think about the freedom they DON’T have, until they rot of old age. When Ted Bundy was finally arrested in 1978, he told the police officer, “I wish you had killed me.” Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (the architect of the 9/11 attacks) would love nothing better than to be put to death. In his words, "I have been looking to be a martyr [for a] long time." 5. Most governments are supposed to be secular, but for those who invoke Christian law in this debate, you can find arguments both for AND against the death penalty in the Bible. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus praises mercy (Matthew 5:7) and rejects “an eye for an eye” (Matthew 5:38-39). James 4:12 says that God is the only one who can take a life in the name of justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Answer 3

If he had have been charged with murder he would have got off because the circumstances arent murder.He got life which is what he would have got for murder.It sounds like the legal system got it right for a change.The minimum served for life is ten years by the way.

Answer 4

Why should the legal system hold anyone accountable when nobody else does nowadays? The schools are going to "outcome based education" where the ability doesn't matter, it's how you feel about what you learned that matters.
The whole thing is sliding downward, next stop Hell.

Answer 5

how aweful imagine having to explain to the boys that youve lost the smoke cos you ran into a bit of trouble.
his pals would be well gutted not getting any of the skunk,coz i would be.

Answer 6

Murder is if you set out to kill someone and plan it, If it's a spur of the moment thing "a moment of madness it's manslaughter" And if he's smoking weed , well what can I say!!

Answer 7

Yes charge him with murder,but go after his supplier for manslaughter. Its only when we hit the suppliers that we will cut this cancer out of society

Answer 8

Fair play mate, i myself would've given him 25 year, no parole.

Answer 9

I am more worried about the Priests and Pediphiles who have killed the souls of children and are walking about free-this man is in jail. Even if they gave him the death sentace-he'd be on death row forever-

Answer 10

What is more annoying is that he "has been jailed for life" and yet "....will serve a minimum term of three years and four months.