Written by: Michaela
Whitton at theantimedia.org..
United Kingdom — Sarah Sands, a single mother of five from
East London, has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for
stabbing a convicted paedophile to death. The jury of ten women and two men
deliberated for three days before clearing Sands of murder and convicting her
of the manslaughter of Michael Pleasted, by reason of “loss of control.”
Within weeks of hearing that her neighbour, Michael
Pleasted, had sexually molested three children, Sands, 32, armed herself with a
knife and stabbed him eight times at his flat in Canning Town.
During the hearing, the Old Bailey heard that Pleasted had
previously served sentences for indecent assault and buggery and had 24
previous convictions for sexually assaulting boys between 1970 and 1991.
Before the new allegations emerged, the 77-year-old had
become a known community figure and was running a bric-a-brac shop when Sands
befriended him and began bringing meals to his flat.
During the trial, Sands sobbed, saying that she had not
meant to harm Pleasted despite going to his flat with a knife. Instead, she
claimed she wanted him to admit his crimes so his young accusers would not have
to attend court.
On the leniency of the sentence, the judge described the
case as “unique” and claimed Sands had lost control rather than taken the law
into her own hands and engaged in “vigilante conduct.”
He added, “This was a case in which the defendant promptly
gave herself up to the police in a highly stressed state, never disputed
responsibility for the killing as a matter of fact, did not take the
opportunity to get rid of evidence and demonstrated remorse.”
Sands has been in custody for 10 months and could be
released on parole in 11 months time.
Via : Wise Diaries