Southport Murders, latest

Lock him up and throw away the key....

Dear God, those poor families.

It will be their first Christmas without their beloved children.

I t makes me want to weep.

Indeed. I think Broadmoor?

why is he allowed to do a video link and not attend court?

Isn't this just the preliminary hearing to establish whether you plead guilty or not guilty, not guilty means going onto a full trial and a date set in the future? The procedure lasts a short time and evidence and prosecution is when there is a full trial?

If he refused to answer and enter a plea, perhaps that should have been 'guilty' entered for him?

One sick individual. Should never ever see the light of day again. Forgive? Never ever!

nanaK54

If he refused to answer and enter a plea, perhaps that should have been 'guilty' entered for him?

It's the law. (yes I did have to look it up.) Silence means proceed to trial as guilt has to be proved.

Wyllow3

nanaK54

If he refused to answer and enter a plea, perhaps that should have been 'guilty' entered for him?

It's the law. (yes I did have to look it up.) Silence means proceed to trial as guilt has to be proved.

Well it looks like someone is advising this vile individual how to play (milk) the U.K. legal system 🤬

Didn’t it say at the time that he was autistic which would account for his behaviour rocking etc?

MayBee70

Didn’t it say at the time that he was autistic which would account for his behaviour rocking etc?

Autism or neurodivergence is a broad church, every individual presents differently, just like neurotypical people.

I sincerely hope that his team do not try to explain his crimes or link them in anyway to his autism.

Doing so would be a travesty towards a swathe of society who find life hard enough as it is…

I’m not saying that it’s a valid excuse for his crimes, just that it explains his behaviour.

It really angers me when people like him commit these crimes then play the autism, neurodivergence etc. card.
It's an insult to anyone who really has a mental health condition. I have close family who have or had a mh condition but never thought to commit any crime.

He's making a bid to play the mental health card. He should have been forcibly brought to court, in a strait jacket if need be.

GrannyGravy13

Wyllow3

nanaK54

If he refused to answer and enter a plea, perhaps that should have been 'guilty' entered for him?

It's the law. (yes I did have to look it up.) Silence means proceed to trial as guilt has to be proved.

Well it looks like someone is advising this vile individual how to play (milk) the U.K. legal system 🤬

What is your problem with this?

Is it his refusal to enter a plea, which is a perfectly common occurrence?

Is it the appearance by video link?

Or it it that you think he should be sent straight to life imprisonment without a trial?

Autism isn't considered to be a mental health condition.

mae13

He's making a bid to play the mental health card. He should have been forcibly brought to court, in a strait jacket if need be.

Autism isn't a mental health condition.

Why should the authorities use resources (time and people) to force somebody to attend court for a hearing which was only ever going to last a few minutes?

MaizieD I find everything about this case horrifying.

In my opinion he should have pleaded guilty.

I do hope they throw away the key to his cell once found guilty and sentenced, no privileges, no niceties, zilch, zero, nada

He took innocent girls futures away, I do not believe in the death penalty however, I do not want his future to have any promise or happiness.

growstuff I would ask why should he be allowed to call the shots and not appear in court?

Awful, awful tragedy. I'm not sure what satisfaction there is to be gained by seeing the perpetrator.

Perhaps there is more going on than we know in the background? ie fear of civil unrest.

nanaK54

If he refused to answer and enter a plea, perhaps that should have been 'guilty' entered for him?

What horrible, horrible posts.

Nothing is known about this person. For all we know he may be seriously mentally ill

I think he has remained mute in all legal proceedings so far. All that happened today is that he remained mute when asked how he pleaded and as he did not speak the judge had to enter a plea for him, and as is normal in all such situaations, and they are not uncommon, he entered a plea of 'not guilty'.

This means that there will now be a full and fair trial where, I am sure, there will be lengthy discussion of his mental state and all circumstances around this dreadful event.

The lynch mentality of so many on this thread disgusts me.

M0nica you posted The lynch mentality of so many on this thread disgusts me

Well what disgusts me is the brutal murder of three innocent little girls and the attempted murder of eight other children and adults…

GrannyGravy13

growstuff I would ask why should he be allowed to call the shots and not appear in court?

Like it or not, he has a right in law to attend the court in person or by video link. That's not 'calling the shots' - it's exercising a legal right. It won't make any difference to the verdict, so what's the problem?