Walker brothers and friend jailed

[Farang83150]

Nowhere near long enough sentences IMO and no word of whether they've been banned for life by Richmond or the AFL

https://www.theage.com.au/national/...s-bashing-after-afl-game-20191022-p532yj.html

Three men, two of them the sons of a prominent QC, have been jailed for bashing two men in East Melbourne in the hours after an AFL final.

Dominic Walker, 28, was jailed on Tuesday for 12 months, his brother Sam Walker, 25, was jailed for six months, and their friend Benjamin Fitt, 28, jailed for four months.

The three men must also serve community corrections orders when they are released from prison.

The trio were drunk when they bashed two older men in Wellington Parade in the early hours of September 7 last year, in the hours after Richmond beat Hawthorn in a qualifying final at the MCG.

 

[M0557]

Weak as piss that we still see these lenient penalties dished out for horrible crimes committed.

Will never make an example out of someone by handing out s**t penalties.....

I heard that we were discussing handing out life bans, not sure where it is at. But I support the decision to ban them for life.

 

[00Stinger]

Sentence is a bit soft but is a harsher sentence than I expected them to get.

So I'm not unhappy

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

Harsher then I thought so I’m happy with it. I know a lot of it is committed by minors but this sort of thing happens dozens of times to easy targets every weekend and you would hardly hear about it.

 

[smeltitdeltit]

Better than nothing.

 

[Milanista28]

12 months on paper but in reality he'll be out in 6 or less and they others less as well.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

I didn't realise Tex even had a brother

 

[kickazz]

Sentences ok given the charge.

The fact that the prosecution didn't pursue the more serious charges is the bit that smells.

 

[LFC2010]

The system is a joke every where here. Sadly not surprised at all.

The adverts they put every campaigning against this thuggery are simply a waste of money and effort cause of the justice system currently in place.

 

[Ron The Bear]

I feel like breaking into song.

 

[Linda Lovelace]

The system is a joke every where here. Sadly not surprised at all.

The adverts they put every campaigning against this thuggery are simply a waste of money and effort cause of the justice system currently in place.

You've hit the nail on the head with the linkage to anti-violence campaigns. There is a certain bizarre groupthink among people in the legal community where they believe that they are the enlightened ones for wanting to maintain the status quo. Anyone who is disturbed by the leniency of sentences like these is considered some ill-informed, Herald Sun-reading simpleton that's been whipped into a moral panic frenzy and is baying for 'tough on crime' blood. I am very liberal and support full decriminalization of all drugs and improving prison infrastructure and practices to improve prisoner welfare - which will definitely help reduce recidivism - so I am hardly in that boat.

It's rightly understood now that prison is usually a bad option for those likely to be rehabilitated, as it simply increases their chances of graduating from 'crime university' and puts even more burden on the system. But the problem is that these perspectives often go too far in ignoring the importance of general deterrence. For a highly publicized, extremely violent incident like this, the risk of societal harm by being seen to treat it as a minor offence far outweighs the need to consider the personal character and chances for rehabilitation of the offenders. Countries like Norway - the gold standard for reducing recidivism - don't suffer near the level of alcohol and drug-fueled street violence that we do and yet are still seen as perfectly suitable best practice guides. In reality, the evidence is more mixed as sometimes 'tough on crime' approaches have worked, dependent on specific circumstances. It's simply not logical that we can reduce the number of minor assaults by treating serious assaults as if they are minor themselves, because it undermines the messaging about the consequences.

 

[AuntyBlindEye]

How do clubs enforce bans? Surely it wouldn't be hard to get into the footy again.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

They’re not bad sentences considering. Jail is a major punishment.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

How do clubs enforce bans? Surely it wouldn't be hard to get into the footy again.

They can’t be enforced, in reality. But they can cancel memberships of course.

 

[AuntyBlindEye]

They can’t be enforced, in reality. But they can cancel memberships of course.

Thought so. So people could just sneak in sans membership really.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

They’re not bad sentences considering. Jail is a major punishment.

3 meals a day, a roof and a dental plan is way above the poverty line.

Being on the dole is probably more punishment than that.

 

[LightTower4]

How do clubs enforce bans? Surely it wouldn't be hard to get into the footy again.

Facial recognition technology?

 

[AuntyBlindEye]

Facial recognition technology?

If they have it.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

3 meals a day, a roof and a dental plan is way above the poverty line.

Being on the dole is probably more punishment than that.

It’s not really. These guys have a jail term on their record. It’s a massive stain that will go with them. Stops you doing a fair few things.

 

[Macpotata]

12 months on paper but in reality he'll be out in 6 or less and they others less as well.

exactly. And the campaigners will be watching foxtel, playing video games and eating chocolate bars when they're not working out.


'' Jail time ''

 

[Gavin Excell]

It’s not really. These guys have a jail term on their record. It’s a massive stain that will go with them. Stops you doing a fair few things.

Especially given the opportunities they would have (and still have, albeit tarnished) in front of them given the family connections

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Especially given the opportunities they would have (and still have, albeit tarnished) in front of them given the family connections

A prison record comes up at every turn for the rest of your life

Travelling overseas

Trying to get a loan or mortgage

Trying to get a job

Trying to get things like working with children’s checks (required for everything these days)

Trying to start a business

Trying to get any sort of license or accreditation in many industries

A lot of things. On top of the time served, this will follow them forever.

 

[Anja_Nees]

And they took steps to appeal immediately.

That said, while the sentence might seem light 6 months or a year in jail is time hard served for non-career criminals. They will not enjoy it.

 

[ABSOLUTE MADMAN]

Nowhere near long enough sentences IMO and no word of whether they've been banned for life by Richmond or the AFL

https://www.theage.com.au/national/...s-bashing-after-afl-game-20191022-p532yj.html

Three men, two of them the sons of a prominent QC, have been jailed for bashing two men in East Melbourne in the hours after an AFL final.

Dominic Walker, 28, was jailed on Tuesday for 12 months, his brother Sam Walker, 25, was jailed for six months, and their friend Benjamin Fitt, 28, jailed for four months.

The three men must also serve community corrections orders when they are released from prison.

The trio were drunk when they bashed two older men in Wellington Parade in the early hours of September 7 last year, in the hours after Richmond beat Hawthorn in a qualifying final at the MCG.

There are people that kill children and get less than that. Especially in Victoria. We should be happy that the very public nature of the incident resulted in some punishment for all of them.

 

[Farang83150]

Surely they all have to get life time bans?