P C Harper Verdict

It should have been murder. They should have stopped!

I won't comment further on the fact that they are travellers. The post would be deleted!

I'm not surprised the jury needed police protection.

The driver of the vehicle should in my opinion definitely have been convicted of murder, the passengers probably accomplices to murder.

As for the jury needing protection I have no words which I can post that would not get this post deleted ?????????

I've said all along that our justice system badly needs some re-adjusting/ re-shuffling.
After all the work the police are involved in bringing any case to court and after verdicts like this, is it any wonder that they get so cheesed off with their jobs ?

This was murder, of this there was no doubt as those yobs had no intention of stopping, so the INTENT to injure/maim/ kill was there !! The others were accessories to murder so should get the same sentencing as the murderer himself---no less than 30 years.

What an excruciating death this poor man suffered. I had to turn away when it was played so how the jury reached that manslaughter decision would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Members of the public who are called upon for jury service in any case should sit an intelligence test !

I also find it hard to believe they wouldn't have known that someone was being dragged along behind, and brief as that mile may have been, they must have been aware that the outcome for their victim could well prove to be fatal.

The grinning and general joviality whilst under arrest was also galling to witness.

PC widow's words were incredibly moving.

I agree with your words, or lack of them, as to the jury needing protection GG.. In a similar vein, the burglary in the pensioner's house in Kent a while back, whilst protecting himself and his wife, he inadvertently committed manslaughter fatally wounding one of the burglars. Then when it was ruled that he had used justifiable self defence, threats to his life followed and he had no choice but to uproot himself and his wife from their home.

These young men were out to rob and steal that night, the same way as those who broke into that man's home on that fateful evening, it was one of their systematic nights for breaking and entering. Not isolated incidents. They act as if they are above the law

PC PC Harper's widow's words

They even gave their occupations as thieves. Shameless. The sort of people who give scum a bad name. Of course it was murder. Wonder why the jury gave the manslaughter verdict. Intimidation?

That poor poor man. I made the mistake of reading about his injuries.

I have many thoughts on the outcome of the trial, but just because it was manslaughter I truly pray that the highest custody tariffs that the court can give will be for many years behind bars.
I cannot even begin to imagine how his widow must be feeling. I keep thinking I just wish he had not jumped out of the police vehicle to try and catch their car on foot. He should have stayed with the other officer and followed in the car. The thing was he was a truly good officer and was doing all he could to detain the offenders.

A newly married young man and his life was lost over that stupid theft of a quad bike which was probably only worth about £2000. Who cares about a stupid quad bike that is replaceable but the life of that P.C. cannot be replaced so lock them criminals up and throw away the key.

Disgusting! It was murder!

Their grinning faces infuriated me, made you want to punch them.

His poor young widow, parents, siblings.

I can't bear to think about the pain and fear that poor policemen would have suffered in his final moments. I am a great believer in capital punishment and this is the sort of crime it should be used for. They wouldn't be smirking in court then. Bar that, they should get life in prison but the driver will probably receive 15 years max, out in 5. The others will get less.
Also, a lesson to us all,...never step over ropes attach to an object which has potential to move; sadly, a fatal mistake the policemen made.

I’ve heard tell of attempted intimidation of the jury in the original trial.

They were concerned about intimidation. Not sure there actually was any.

I hope the judge gives them the maximum sentence available which is life imprisonment

Had they been found guilty of murder there would have been lengthy appeals about the legality of the verdict

I hope they get life imprisonment.. They showed no regard for life or remorse for taking a life.
Utter scum.

Yes, there was intimidation in the original trial, which is why security was so tight, and a juror on this trial I believe as dismissed.

The members of the jury must have agonised over the final verdict assuming that they decided it was manslaughter rather than murder.

I am a firm believer in the jury system, and whilst I am appalled at both the way the policeman died, and the prisoners behaviour, I was not privy to everything that the jurors heard in court and whether they were directed by the judge. I must therefore uphold what the jury decided, even though I feel very uncomfortable by it.

I believe the reason they were found guilty of manslaughter is because the officer's death was "unintentional".

I think they can be sentenced to life imprisonment (although we all know that means they could still be free whilst still relatively young men). I hope the judge ensures they are put away for a very long time with no possibility of early release.

100% murder .

I wasn’t surprised that the murder charge was dismissed..It would be impossible to prove intent.
The driver admitted to manslaughter after he was arrested.
It was a terrible incident ( don’t really want to think about it!)
The young men involved have shown no remorse at all apparently.
The police had to arrest every male at the camp site as they were all obstructive to the police who went to arrest the young men who had driven the car. What a shower.

I think the jurors have to be unprejudiced by the criminals' previous history, and I think the judge would have directed them that murder means the main intention was to kill.

Horrible people!

PC Harper was just going off duty when the call came through from a distressed member of the public so he and his colleague attended. Dedicated police officers who wouldn't ignore a cry for help. The result being that he lost his life.

These three lowlifes will probably be out in a few years and a brave young man, a credit to his community and family has gone.

… when the call came through from a distressed member of the public

Imagine how that poor person must be feeling. They may forever be thinking ‘If only I hadn’t made that call’.

Yes Jane10, it would be intimidation from those gangs of unmentionables.