Maybe they think the fuss has blown over by now – after all, it’s been a week or so since three students were let off by a judge after a vicious street attack.
But, I have a feeling their shameful thuggery will follow them around for a few years yet, for one good reason. They might have got away with it in court, but, in these times of instant digital connection, their moment of madness will remain on the internet.
So, they escaped official criminal records after the softest of sentences – absolute discharges by the court – but news reports or social media chat about their brutal assault will be on show across the web for all to see.
Anyone can view the unpleasant details for years to come. A potential employer or colleagues, for example.
Poor lambs, they were spared painful punishment to avoid ruining their lives and careers.
One is studying to be a lawyer – a conviction would have barred him from practising – so the sheriff took pity on him. Another lucky boy is a psychology student. You can’t make this up, can you?
They seem superbly qualified to submit a joint dissertation on “The Cognitive and Legal Ramifications of Street Violence” to their tutors at Aberdeen University.
Everyone has a right to rebuild their lives after an aberration. But there is always a lingering suspicion that someone capable of inflicting violence might do it again if not taught a lesson.
A memorable headline created by journalist colleagues in Aberdeen mirrored the essence of a wave of public objections to the ruling:
“Thugs – 1
Justice – 0”
No justice for victims
It’s the same old story: given distance and time from the original offence, everything goes a bit fuzzy and wobbly in court. Suddenly, the needs of the offenders take precedence over the victims.
How many times do we have to hear this: “There is no justice for victims”?
The stupid students were involved in an early-hours altercation with two other men outside a city nightclub. It might have started off as six of one and half a dozen of the other, but violence meted out by the trio was sickening and wholly disproportionate.
A mask of humility, so essential in the chosen profession he is about to slither into, was totally absent
By pure luck, no one was killed after a victim was pushed over and cracked his head on a kerb. Elsewhere, murder cases have resulted from this type of fracas.
Maybe I’m sensitive because I was affected badly when people I know suffered nasty assaults. Psychological scars are left on victims, too, and their families.
What rubbed salt into the wounds was would-be solicitor Mohammad Hassan’s ugly celebration, captured as he left court. It was as if he had scored a winner in extra time. He could well live to regret such lack of self control and maturity.
A mask of humility, so essential in the chosen profession he is about to slither into, was totally absent.
Does everyone deserve another chance?
I recall a period in my journalistic career when duties included listening to the hard-luck stories of similar offenders whose past caught up with them. Usually when others found them out after web searches.
A familiar plea: it was blighting their lives – the past was robbing them of their future. Did it serve them right, or did they deserve another chance?
They begged for past misdemeanours to be expunged from the newspaper’s online archive so they became invisible from public scrutiny. It’s not as easy as it sounds, as these things can spread easily across multiple websites.
There were legal and moral factors to be weighed up and, just like those facing the sheriff in Aberdeen, the responsibility of acting as judge and jury in these appeals weighed heavy. In the eyes of the law, many convictions are never wiped from the official record, such as acts of violence or sexual abuse, once the sentence reaches a certain tariff.
Sometimes I agreed that they had a point; on other occasions I didn’t, especially if there was a justifiable public interest – as here.
An alternative, online punishment
It’s natural for many of us to feel justice was defeated and the students’ punishment did not fit the crime. Given the outcry and the inescapable fact that their two victims ended up in hospital, it seems wholly appropriate to me that prosecutors should appeal against possible undue leniency.
Triumph might be temporary for Mohammad Hassan, Paul Elliott and Luke Dragic, if prospective bosses start searching for their names via web or social media
Maybe there are other thugs with a sob story in the pipeline, whose prospects are similarly threatened, now hoping for an audience with the same sheriff in this case.
These lucky louts were dealt a get out of jail card, so to speak.
Triumph might be temporary for Mohammad Hassan, Paul Elliott and Luke Dragic, if prospective bosses start searching for their names via web or social media when they come knocking.
Condemned to looking over their shoulders constantly; it’s an alternative punishment lying in wait, but maybe it’s justice after all.
David Knight is the long-serving former deputy editor of The Press and Journal
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