Boy of 16 Used Disguises When He Carried Out Robberies - Assignment Example

?Criminal Law Articles Boy of 16 used disguises when he carried out robberies The legal issues being discussed in the above article include: the series of violent robberies committed by Miles Alura and the use of various disguises in order to perpetuate the offense1. The article does identify the issue accurately and clearly, but mostly focuses on the fact that the offender wore various disguises in order to perpetuate his robberies. I believe that the main issue in this case is the robbery itself including the wearing of the disguises. I believe that the wearing of the disguises added more intent to the crime. The use of violence also added necessitated the treatment of the crime as an adult offense. Section 8 of the Theft Act 1968 is primarily the law relevant to this case2. Robbery is considered an aggravated form of theft which involves force or the threat of force on a person. The robbery is further aggravated in this case by the wearing of disguises3. In general, the act of Alura includes the various elements of the crime of robbery, where an individual who steals, immediately before or at the time of stealing, uses force or threat of force, on any person, and uses such force or threat of force in order to steal4. The law is accurately portrayed in the article, as the elements of the crimes constituting robbery are presented in the article. What is downplayed however in the discussion is the age of the offender which is below the age of majority. In taking issue with discernment, the fact that the minor was able to plan out the crimes and having the foresight and skills to prepare disguises to conceal his identity indicates adequate discernment which should make him liable as an adult offender, therefore be treated and sentenced as such. 2. Graff Diamonds robber Aman Kassaye jailed for 23 years The issue discussed by the article refers to the crime of robbery, the sentence imposed by the courts, and the different aggravating elements which included the commission of the offense. The conspiracy to rob committed by the other conspirators to the crime was also indicated in the article5. I believe that the article covered the major elements pertinent to the robbery. As was discussed in the earlier article, the use of force or the threat or force or violence aggravates theft into robbery6. Moreover, impunity is added to the robbery with the use of disguises to the commission of the crime, hence the sentence of the offenders is in the higher ranges7. The cases of R v. Harding and R v. Eubank demonstrate the increase in penalty for offenders carrying out armed robberies, with the use of firearms subject to a separate count. The kidnap of the shop assistant also constitutes another crime, which was also treated separately by the court in terms of sentence imposition8. All these elements of the crime combined led to the higher range of sentence imposed on the criminals. The law is more or less accurately portrayed in the article, especially in terms of the higher penalty imposed for the criminals, and the pertinent aggravating circumstances mentioned in the article. The fact that the crime is committed with firearms, with disguises, and with violence indicates elements which the courts would consider in order to establish the existence of the crime of robbery. The article however does not indicate why the sentences are different for the three offenders when they are all conspirators to the same offense. The article also does not mention the damages which were imposed on the different offenders considering that the property stolen amounts to substantial losses for the victims. 3. Gunmen grab diamonds worth ?32m in three minutes The article details the sophistication and the level of deception used by the offenders in order to perpetuate their offense. The article discusses the robbery itself, the use of automatic weapons, the value of the property stolen, and the use of disguises, including the impersonation of police officers in order to carry out the offense9. These details all contribute to the determination of the courts in terms of the elements of the crime of robbery and its aggravating circumstances. The article also acknowledges the sophistication of the crime. The use of police uniform disguises also indicates intricate planning and premeditation for the crime, serving to further aggravate the crime committed. Moreover, the use of guns and force as well as the threat of violence and force very much elevated the crime into a robbery10. The value of the property stolen was also significant, further serving to aggravate the crime committed. The article highlighted the important elements which made the crime a robbery, including the violence or threat of force or violence on victims and in the commission of the crime. The article also mentions the terror and the fear which was felt by the worker-victims during the commission of the crime11. These elements aggravated the perversity and the impact of the offense. In general, the three articles have similar elements. They are all robberies, although the third article does not specifically label the crime to be a robbery. Nevertheless, it has all the legal elements of robbery. These robberies have all been perpetuated with armed weapons which implied a threat of force or violence against the victims. Even as no substantial violence was actually committed against the victims, and even if some of the weapons were actually not used on the victims, the victims were recipients of a significant amount of trauma and intimidation. The three articles also share similar elements, mostly on the use of disguises in order to conceal their identity and to facilitate the commission of the offense. Although not specifically mentioned in the articles, the use of the disguises is an aggravating aspect to robbery, further necessitating the imposition of a higher penalty on the offenders. The use of disguises also implies much planning by the offenders; it indicates a high level of sophistication to the offense. The amount stolen for the different crimes imply substantial losses for the owners of the properties stolen. They further support the notion that the crimes were not simple or petty crimes, these are major robberies. The first and the second articles also feature similar qualities, except that the sentence imposed in the first article is significantly lower than the sentence imposed on the second article. The age of the offender is therefore a significant consideration in sentencing because the age of minority necessitates lower sentences. The third article has not gone through court adjudication as yet and therefore does not include legal details like sentencing of the perpetrators. Set 2: Murder: Ex-police chief and wife found shot dead after row The article portrays an example of a murder-suicide case. The article discusses the incident as described by the neighbors of the couple12. It discusses how the neighbors heard the loud arguments and the subsequent gun shots. The article also makes assumptions as to the circumstances surrounding the incident, with hardly any specific police statements used in the article. The article also mentions that no other suspects are being sought in the case, leading the reader to immediately understand that the crime is indeed a murder-suicide case with the husband killing the wife and then turning the gun on himself. Murder is considered a crime under the common law of England and Wales13. It is the most serious form of homicide where there is the intentional killing of another, with the intent of the offender being the death or serious injury of another. The element of intent is clear in murder. In the article, the intent of the husband is implied, especially with the actual death of his wife. English law on murder clearly indicates that it refers to the “unlawful killing of a human being in the Queen’s peace, with malice aforethought”14. The general actus reus of the crime includes the actual unlawful killing of a person in the Queen’s peace. The case, as described by the article, does indicate the killing of the wife by the husband, with malice accompanying such act. The mens rea of the murder is the malice which eventually causes the death of a person15. The subsequent suicide of the husband would also imply the inability of the justice system to impose the elements of justice and adjudication on the guilty party or parties. The article presents vague details about the case, and from a legal standpoint, the details it provides are insufficient to make a reliable evaluation of the case. 2. Mental health patient Nicola Edgington gets 37 years for stranger murder The article presents the case of Nicola Edgington who was sentenced to 37 years for murder. The article uses terminology already applied by the courts, mostly in terms of the determination of the sanity and the culpability of the offender16. The article directly quotes the statements made by the judge in order to present and describe the offender to the reader. Therefore, the determination of sanity is based on legal boundaries, not medical or mental health elements. The article highlights relevant aspects of the case, mostly in terms of how the offender was already intentionally seeking out to commit murder and was bent on carrying out the act regardless of any barriers she would encounter. The article narrates the facts of the case based on court proceedings. There is limited room for exaggeration of details from the case within the article. The article does identify the issues of the case accurately, with the issue of the sanity of the offender a factor in the court’s determination of culpability. The article does identify that the courts there the offender was fully in possession of her mental faculties when she committed the crime and that she could not diminished responsibility as a mental health patient. The article also used the words of the court in order to highlight the choice made by the offender in actually committing the offense, presenting the offender to be “manipulative and exceptionally dangerous”17. Section 2(1) of the Homicide Act cannot apply to the case. The section more or less declares that an individual who kills another cannot be convicted of murder if he is mentally ill or has an “abnormality of mind” with such abnormality causing an significant impairment of “his mental responsibility for his acts and omissions in doing or being party to the killing”18. Based on the article, the court was not convinced of her diminished mental capacity and deemed her fully responsible for her actions. Her plea of mental incapacitation would have been a legal partial defence, downgrading the offence from murder to manslaughter19. 3. Man jailed for murder of woman and death of unborn child The article discusses the brutal beating and subsequent killing of Eystna Blunnie and her unborn child by her ex-boyfriend Tony McLermon. The article was able to identify the pertinent issues in the crime, which includes pre-meditation, the luring of the victim by the offender, and the previous statements and text messages of the offender indicating his intent to cause serious harm to Blunnie and killing her20. The article also details previous incidents of violence against girlfriends which the offender perpetuated, indicating a tendency of the offender towards violence. The words applied by the court were also used by the article, mostly citing Justice Alford who described how the offender likely had previous acts of violence against the victim and how the offender premeditated for a prolonged period of time about killing the victim21. I agree with the issues identified in the case, mostly in terms of the premeditation and the malice intended by the offender against the victim22. The luring of the victim by the offender also indicated the perversity of the offense in actually accomplishing what he set out to do23. The article also identified the child destruction case against the offender. The details on this case are very much based on the violent act carried out against the victim which were significant in their intensity to also cause the death of the child. Bibliography Chan Wing-Siu v The Queen [1984] 3 AER 877 Coke, E. Institutes of the Laws of England, (London: E & R. Brooke, 1797), p. 47. Edwards, T. ‘Ex-police chief and wife found shot dead after row,’ (4 March 2013) The Guardian < http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/381623/Ex-police-chief-and-wife-found-shot-dead-after-row> [accessed 19 June 2013] Homicide Act of 1957, s. 2(1). Newlands, P. ‘Boy of 16 used disguises when he carried out robberies’. (11 November 2012) The Sunday Times [accessed 18 June 2013] Press Association, ‘Man jailed for murder of woman and death of unborn child,’ (6 March 2013). The Guardian < http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/06/man-jail-murder-woman-unborn-child?INTCMP=SRCH> accessed 18 June 2013 R v Turner [1975] 61 Cr.App.R. 67 R v Daly [1981] 3 Cr.App.R.(S.) 340 R v Dawson and James [1976] 64 Cr App R 150 R. v. Pegg and Martin [1996] 2 Cr.App.R.(S.) 346 R v Vickers [1957] 2 QB 664 R v Egan (1992) 4 AER 470 R v Moloney [1985] AC 905 Theft Act, 1968, s. 8. Sentencing Guidelines Council, ‘Overarching principles: seriousness’ (2004) [accessed 18 June 2013] The Homicide Act 1957 (5 & 6 Eliz.2 c.11) Times Staff, ‘Mental health patient Nicola Edgington gets 37 years for stranger murder,’ (4 March 2013) The Times < http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article3705183.ece> accessed 18 June 2013. Tran, M. ‘Graff Diamonds robber Aman Kassaye jailed for 23 years,’ [6 August 2010]. The Guardian < http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/06/graff-diamonds-robber-jailed> [accessed 19 June 2013]. Read More