We have previously discussed the lower criminal sentences handed down in England in comparison to the United States. Some such cases truly shock the conscience as in the case of Jordan Sheard (left). Sheard had long bullied Steven Simpson (right) for being gay as well as for his speech impairment and epilepsy. Sheard got Simpson to strip to his underwear and wrote gay slurs over his body which was covered with tanning oil. He then lit him on fire at his birthday party.
Sheard fled as a neighbor tried to put out the flames. However, Simpson was burned over 50 percent of his body and later died. A paramedic reported that Steven had lipstick all over Steven’s face — with the words “gay boy” on his head. Sheard insisted that they were just fooling around and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He was jailed for 3½ years yesterday at Sheffield Crown Court — but will be released on after just serving half of that time.
Source: Sun
Not even fifteen years hence, has the life and death of Matthew Shepard already been forgotten? “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Dr X wins this evening’s “Paying Attention” Award.
The smug comments about the left are puzzling in this instance, given that it’s generally from the left that we hear demands for more serious penalties in cases of so-called hate crimes. Meantime, we have right wing Christians showing up in Nigeria urging Nigerian lawmakers to continue coming down hard on homosexuals. Perhaps the English judge is a conservative who harbors a secret dislike of homosexuals. Or maybe he has a bias against autistic persons.
Point is that these political generalizations are silly and self-serving. We can all reasonably object to the light sentence, regardless of political point of view.
Darren Smith is quite right. This crime would qualify as felony murder in many jurisdictions. What I find additionally distressing about this type of crime is that Mr. Sheard’s views are learned.