Murder, love and life after 32 years in prison

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/15/ben-gunn-murder-love-life-after-prison

by timw6n • 13 years ago

28 11 13 years ago

revelation• 13 years ago

How did a 14 year old get life in prison? Is the judicial system in the UK still calibrated around medieval times?

topynate• 13 years ago

The simplest answer is that he got it by beating an 11 year old boy to death with a chair leg. The sentence for murder is life imprisonment or "detention at Her Majesty's pleasure", which is much the same thing. Most murderers do eventually get released on life licence.

harrytuttle• 13 years ago

His sentence was before prison was about rehabilitation. That didn't really kick in until the (late) 90's. Before that it was purely about punishment.

I hit someone with a golf club once. In the right circumstances this could have been any one of us.

bowyakka• 13 years ago

The uk defines the age of criminal responsibility as 10; which is the point at which the individuals actions can be viewed as theirs and theirs alone in the eyes of the law.

FWIW the US scale for this slides between 6 and 12 according to wikipedia

njharman• 13 years ago

Hello captain hyperbole!

In medieval times, depending on who you are and who you killed, the punishment would be quick to painful death or nothing at all.

Unprovoked, knowingly and intentionally bludgeoning another to death. The only mitigating circumstance reported in the article was he knew and accepted his actions as wrong (immediately calling police on himself).

And, as the article mentions, "life" means first chance of parole after 10 years.

coldtea• 13 years ago

Hello captain hyperbole!

14 year old, life in prison. It IS medieval -- in the metaphorical sense of the word. What you did was a straight-up historical correction on the "medieval" thing, which was totally uncalled for.

That said, I wouldn't be so smug if I was in the States either. From what I've read 14 years old (or 15), even get the death penalty in some states.

philjohn• 13 years ago

This was life, with a recommended tarrif of 10 years (from the article) ... so, if the parole board considered him "rehabilitated" he would have been released at that time, albeit on life license, which can be revoked at any time for transgressions.

clarky07• 13 years ago

I couldn't help but think about Shawshank as I read this. Once you are in prison for that long, it's hard to know anything different. 2-5 years is one thing. 30 years is something completely different. He was in prison twice as long as he's been out of prison, not to mention he was just a teenager when he went in. Of course he doesn't know how to react to life on the outside. Hopefully he is able to adjust eventually without going back to crime.

bsenftner• 13 years ago

Read the comments in the article! Ben participates and argues with people - quite fascinating.

JoeAltmaier• 13 years ago

Guy's nuts. It was all about him - don't make me do this, etc. Locked up because he wouldn't submit to the simplest rule of society - first outside, then inside. Sociopath?

Murder, love and life after 32 years in prison

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