Grandmother jailed over WWII 'family heirloom' pistol (five years..)

Grandmother jailed over WWII 'family heirloom' pistol (five years..)

news.bbc.co.uk

A grandmother has been jailed for five years for possessing a "family heirloom" World War II pistol.

Gail Cochrane, 53, had kept the gun for 29 years following the death of her father, who had been in the Royal Navy.

Police found the weapon, a Browning self-loading pistol, during a search of her home in Dundee while looking for her son.

She admitted illegal possession of the firearm, an offence with a minimum five-year jail term under Scots law.

Cochrane told the High Court in Edinburgh that she had never contemplated she might be committing a crime by keeping the gun or that s

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.scotsman.com

Absolutely, hideously draconian.

There was no victim - Therefore no crime. The people involved in legislating these insane types of sentences need to brought to justice like the foul cockroaches they are.

Gun control creates victimless crimes.

Five years locked in a cage. Britain is a totalitarian nightmare.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

She had no licence for the gun. This is a crime.

"She admitted illegal possession of the firearm, an offence with a minimum five-year jail term under Scots law"

news.bbc.co.uk...

A question that needs answering is: Why was the gun hidden under a mattress? If I had a family heirloom like that, I would have it in a display case or on the wall. Not hidden under a mattress.

For me then, although the sentence in ridiculous compared with other sentences given for worse crimes, she should receive some form of punishment. Guns need licences and if this gun was displayed she may have had no problem.

Also this is Scottish law and not British, so saying Britain is a totalitarian nightmare is not accurate. But then, saying Scotland is a totalitarian nightmare would also be an inaccuracy!

This is a little bit too much. The Law does not use common sense and does not hold mercy against peaceful folks. This country is beginning to disturb me more and more as i heard these ridiculous stories.

reply to post by stoo82


If you had the kind of son that the cops come looking for you wouldnt have a firearm out on display either. At least I'd hope not.

This is why I dont want kids. One stupid kid and you life is ruined.

Sadly cases like these are most often used to make political examples for people. You know like the people on ATS who say hanging is too good for her, she broke the LAW.

I swear some people have LAW on the brain. They have no capacity to think in terms of real right and wrong and or common sense just what is the LAW. It’s the LAW, It’s the LAW, and it’s the LAW!

Say it three times backwards and the fact is that we (no matter who you are and where you live) are regulated by far too many rules, that are stupid and are no less stupid, because they are the LAW!

See the LAW is not about protecting good people from bad people, the LAW is about convincing all people that they are incapable of making determinations about right and wrong, that they are defective, that they are BAD!

Even aging mothers who sentimentally hang on to a piece of their family’s past!

The five year minimum jail sentence applies everywhere except Northern Ireland

She had no licence for the gun. This is a crime.

It's in no way justified to hold the title of 'crime' by any civilized definition.

Guns need licences and if this gun was displayed she may have had no problem.

Possession means a mandatory jail sentence of five years. She could have had it over the mantelpiece. Depending on the judge It may have led to a year being knocked off at the very most, if evidence is shown to give it 'exceptional circumstances' which would still be despicable.

A question that needs answering is: Why was the gun hidden under a mattress? If I had a family heirloom like that, I would have it in a display case or on the wall. Not hidden under a mattress.

She most likely knew it was illegal to have, though probably not about the draconian punishments inflicted. Owning a firearm does not mean you are planning to commit murder. It's just an interesting hunk of metal and really no more lethal than a crossbow I can walk out of a shop with.




[edit on 17-6-2010 by TheDarkTurnip]

Originally posted by TheDarkTurnip
The five year minimum jail sentence applies everywhere except Northern Ireland

She had no licence for the gun. This is a crime.

It's in no way justified to hold the title of 'crime' by any civilized definition.

Guns need licences and if this gun was displayed she may have had no problem.

Possession means a mandatory jail sentence of five years. She could have had it over the mantelpiece. Depending on the judge It may have led to a year being knocked off at the very most, if evidence is shown to give it 'exceptional circumstances' which would still be despicable.

A question that needs answering is: Why was the gun hidden under a mattress? If I had a family heirloom like that, I would have it in a display case or on the wall. Not hidden under a mattress.

She most likely knew it was illegal to have, though probably not about the draconian punishments inflicted. Owning a firearm does not mean you are planning to commit murder. It's just an interesting hunk of metal and really no more lethal than a crossbow I can walk out of a shop with.




[edit on 17-6-2010 by TheDarkTurnip]

Funny really, as you have missed out the part where I agreed it was a ridiculous sentence. But hay ho, never mind.

" The case began after police arrived at the 53-year-old's home on 17 June 2009 with an arrest warrant for her son who had failed to turn up for a court appearance.

He was not at the flat, but the 80-year-old pistol was found underneath a mattress in her bedroom. "



Were they looking for the son under the matress

Originally posted by getso
Were they looking for the son under the matress

thinking the exact same thing
they were looking for her son
what were they doing under there?

Originally posted by getso


Were they looking for the son under the matress

Good question. My understanding of warrants is that they have specific parameters as to what you can and cannot look for.

I wonder if they didnt even have a search warrant but only an arrest warrant and she, trying to help, let them in anyway.

Never let cops into your house. Never, ever, ever, ever. They'll pull a kitchen knife from a drawer and charge you with it if they're just in a bad mood or don't like your scented candles.

Man, I'm really glad that I am a US Citizen and get to have guns. Seriously. You Brits need to revolt, your government is getting just ridiculous.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere

Originally posted by getso


Were they looking for the son under the matress

Good question. My understanding of warrants is that they have specific parameters as to what you can and cannot look for.

I wonder if they didnt even have a search warrant but only an arrest warrant and she, trying to help, let them in anyway.

Never let cops into your house. Never, ever, ever, ever. They'll pull a kitchen knife from a drawer and charge you with it if they're just in a bad mood or don't like your scented candles.

Since the 7-7 bombing attack, I think that Britain has pretty made it known that they will come into your house and search it from top to bottom whether it's in the warrant or not for purposes of "national security". They've been clamping down on civil liberties in the UK hard core since that event.

An interesting thing.. here on ATS its getting to where I can often guess what country a post is about just by reading the title.

Net censorship type stuff is often Aus.
"Bad Cops" or religious controversy, government or business corruption is often US.
Things like the OP in this thread ( stiff sentence for what many think is a "light" crime / light sentence for what many think is a serious crime) are often UK.

The thing to remember about the court system (at least here in the US) is the quote below. From the article it appears it is true in the UK as well..


This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

The court considered that there were exceptional circumstances and didn’t buy it; I imagine the judge had a lot more to go on than 400 words from a second hand source.

Blind application of the law without any recourse to common sense isn't justice, it's bureaucracy.

Difficult to fathom this level of insanity. Oh well, the British seem to like it this way, good luck to them.........

I think she should have been charged but maybe given a shorter sentence or community service instead, after all the weapon was illegal and hidden under a matress.
This isn't the wild west or the difference between the UK and the USA gun laws. These types of threads tend to bring out American patriotism about owning guns, and us British about why we don't need them.

[edit on 17-6-2010 by Kurokage]

reply to post by TheDarkTurnip


I'm sorry for you guys. You are slaves. When you are denied the right to defend yourself, you are not equal. Your muder rate went up dramatically after the gun ban, because the bad guys know they won't get shot if they try to rob you. The government does not fear the people because they are powerless to defend themselves against tyranny, and the tyranny will only increase over time. Over here, folks are buying up guns faster than you can say, oh bloody hell, The Kenyan president has declared himself dictator for life and banned hand-guns. We take our freedom very seriously. I carry a weapon in my car and have one in several areas of my home. Doesn't mean I want to shoot anyone. Just gives me comfort to know that if someone attempts to harm my family or property, I will successfully defend. Or if SHTF, we are protected. I'd move.

reply to post by astrogolf

he government does not fear the people because they are powerless to defend themselves against tyranny

The government does not fear the people because they are lazy and content with watching reality shows on TV, additionally they are in debt up to their ears because they thought the "American Dream" applied to them as well.

There will be NO uprising, whether you have guns or not, you are all just too happy with the few crumbs the corporate controlled governments throw you.

That applies to America, and the UK.

None of that will change until we stop being so damn selfish, thus, it will never change.

Looks like Scotland and Great Britain learned a valuable lesson from having their collective asses handed to them back in the 1770's.

Keep the population disarmed, and have stiff sentences for those who possess firearms that can be used to defend themselves from a Totalitarian State.

Harsh, yes indeed, but IT"S YOUR LAW....