Girl fined for fighting back at masked man

Girl fined for fighting back at masked man

edinburghnews.scotsman.com

Girl fined for fighting back at masked man

A TERRIFIED teenage girl has been fined £500 for knocking unconscious a masked stranger who stalked her home from a nightclub in what lawyers have called an "exceptional" case.

Claire Burleigh, 19, was pounced on by Sean Docherty, 43, as she was about to open the door of her Bathgate home, Livingston Sheriff Court heard yesterday.

Docherty had earlier been thrown out of the nightclub following a drunken argument.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Well folks, for those people who have a problem with the USA and other country's with 'rugged' defence laws allowing weapons to be carried (lethal and non-lethal).

Spare a thought for 'prison-island' UK were you CANNOT defend yourself against an attacker!!!!

Let's see:

UK's step-by-step (soft) enslavement of Britons.
Defence law dismantling, a step-by-step guide.

1953 - 1968 Make it nearly impossible to carry anything 'offensive' on your person to protect yourself. CHECK.

1988 - Take away full-bore semi-auto (C/F) weapons from civilian ownership. CHECK

1997 - Take away semi auto pistols from civilian ownership. CHECK.

2011 - A citizen FINED and given a criminal record for DEFENDING herself against a masked attacker on her own doorstep. She was unarmed. Unarmed defence in the UK now illegal? CHECK!

edinburghnews.scotsman.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

wow
also the article went on to say that the masked attacker was not charged with any offense.

Im confused, did she actually decide to press charges? I thought it would be up to the person who got attacked to want someone brought up on charges.

Is there any more info on this, theres some facts missing here somewhere.

This story is completely crazy...
I find it hard to believe...

Two friends of mine got jumped at a bus stop many years ago. The guy even bit one of them. They retaliated by hitting him in the face with a guitar (inside the carry case) and running away.

Guess which one of them got charged?

Yes my friend did, for using the guitar as a weapon.

--

On topic, fair play to the girl though, knocking the guy out.

I'm not sure about this, but doesn't the U.K have really lax property right laws? If that's true then this is understandable.

This is why Americans will never give up their right to own and carry a firearm for self-defense.

If you let the government take your right to defend yourself out of your hands then this is the nonsense that follows.

I read the article and I am to understand she is being fined for 'going to far" more or less. After the attacker was unconscious she continued to kick his face.

If you've ever read Ender's Game you might understand the basic instinctual reasoning that happens here. She was frightened and very upset, she was attacked. She wanted to make sure he never attacked her again. The situation was created by the attacker, not her.

I find her actions to be validated, but I am not a judge. If on a jury I couldn't in any way find her guilty.

reply to post by WatchRider


Instead of being violent she should have simply rang the police who could have come and reasoned with this man!

I recall somewhere on an official UK government web-site they did recommend taking self defense classes as opposed to carrying a weapon... I suppose they now didn't really mean it? I couldn't find the source in the few minutes I have to post this though... sorry.

Really I must wonder if there is part of this story we're missing, as in is it being over sensationalized and there IS a good reason for it, or if this isn't true: People in the UK need to seriously begin protesting and making their voices heard!

reply to post by Seiko


Yeah I doubt she's a malevolent person, but probably gave him a few extra shots after knocking him out when she was thoughtlessly reacting in fear and anger to what his intentions were and what could have happened. I would say it gets dropped.
Kudos for Ender's game.
I just finished Xenocide.

We can't either here in Canada and I would not pay the fine and arrest them with bullhorns stalking that judge and the police until they were fired and forced to make ammends to me and all the women in this situation. Not On My Watch!! She had better not pay it and had better be the loudest thing they've ever experienced, a ton of lung power so they can never get a moments piece. I am so fed up. VIVA LA BULLHORNS!!!!!!

This is completley absurd. It is a natural instinct to defend youself when attacked. You are going to do whatever you can to make sure that you are not harmed. How can you be charged for something that comes naturally to all of us? It should not have went down this way. The man should have been charged not the girl she was the victim.

Originally posted by neonitus
wow

also the article went on to say that the masked attacker was not charged with any offense.

Yep, that's right, the UK doesn't not like to punish aggressors, only citizens who fight back...

what I found so hypocritical about the story is the fact that we have seen thousands of videos where police officers lose control beating suspects, some even handcuffed....................And, it always seems to be justified by the suspect resisting, or just adrenalin rush by the officers.


I also found this part ironic:

Sheriff Donald Muirhead told Burleigh she was entitled to hit Docherty to protect herself. But he added: "You lost control. You kept on kicking him when there was no longer any need. In all the circumstances, it seems to me that I can deal with the matter by way of a financial penalty."

I guess as long as the Crown gets some dough, no harm no foul.

Parker

I ask again, i cant find this information: Did she herself file charges? Im not very adept at law, but I thought the victim would have to press charges for them to be filed. Im in no way condoning this man, in fact he got his just desserts, but that doesnt put him in jail. Did she file charges against him and they were dropped? If so why were they dropped? I cant see it being because she fought off an attacker, maybe due to lack of evidence. I guess ill hunt for more sources on this story, its a pretty interesting case.

This is just another crack for broken Britain.

He was stalking her and making her feel uncomfortable. If this was my girlfriend I would be seriously proud of her for taking care of herself like this.

Shame on Scotland. Even if she did go a bit ape I think alot of people would under the circumstances.

However, she went too far by continuing to kick her attacker on the head even after he was knocked unconscious.

Sheriff Donald Muirhead told Burleigh she was entitled to hit Docherty to protect herself. But he added: "You lost control. You kept on kicking him when there was no longer any need. In all the circumstances, it seems to me that I can deal with the matter by way of a financial penalty."

She was not fined because she fought back.

We don't know all the details, the judgement is maybe a bit harsh but not outrageous.

There are 3 ways that justice failed, each of them failing by themselves is ridiculous, but for all 3 to fail together is absolutely unacceptable.

First of all, the officer that took her in. He was a piece of human garbage. I hope he has a horrible accident and either dies, or lives the rest of his life in severe pain. He should not have taken her in.

Second of all, the DA. He is a piece of human garbage. I hope he has a horrible accident and either dies, or lives the rest of his life in severe pain. He should not have prosecuted her.

Third, the Judge. He too is a piece of human garbage. I hope he has a horrible accident and either dies, or lives the rest of his life in severe pain. He should have thrown the case out.

And last, the Jury, if there was one, it doesn't say if this was a bench trial or not. They are all pieces of human garbage. I hope they all have a horrible accident and either die or live the rest of their lives in severe pain. They should not have returned a guilty verdict.

Sound harsh? Sorry, every single one of these people failed to return any sort of justice for this poor girl, so they deserve NONE themselves. Shame on all of them. When someone attacks another person without cause, in my opinion they loose ANY and ALL rights that go along with being a human. You loose your right to life, you loose your right to freedom. If I had my way, if you are attacked by someone this way, you have the right to take them home, tie them up in the basement, and torture them to death over the course of 2 weeks. Criminals like these are instantly downgraded to being lower than a cockroach.

Someone else mentioned the double standard with cops and civilians. Damn straight there is. You see, if I attacked a pig while wearing a mask, I bet you anything he would shoot me at least twice. Then he would get a nice paid 2 week vacation, that would end in the investigator calling it a "justified shooting" But no! If a civilian defends themselves, and kicks their attacker while he is on the ground, THEY are the bad guy! This is so far past ridiculous I can't even express the way I feel.

My heart goes out to this poor girl, but she definitely seems like a strong one, and hopefully she will get over this whole ordeal quickly.

Found another one that cleared some things up for me:

Yesterday at Livingston Sheriff Court it emerged the Crown had decided not to prosecute him - because he was so badly beaten. Read more: www.thescottishsun.co.uk...

www.thescottishsun.co.uk...
they actually felt sorry for the SOB! Well damn good for her, but its pathetic they took his side. He admitted it (pretty good evidence for a case against him i would think) and yet they say "boo hoo you poor thing".

Havent they heard of Fight or Flight? Some fight, some flee, some do both.

My friend had a similar experience and got away. He grabbed her, she didnt hesitate and kicked him in the crotch. He went down, she booted him in the face (in open toed shoes, the poor girl) and ran like hell. She said she was so worked up that she almost didnt run and wanted to take another kick. Shes not a violent person but human nature kicked in with all that adrenaline. Was he really down and not ready to come after her? She had no idea since she only kicked him once and did run the risk of turning her back on him, only for him to possibly get her this time.
She did the right thing, and I hope this shows some of those would be creeps that you dont know what youre getting into, you better back off and rethink your life.
She should be proud of herself and that d-bag better be hiding his head for a long time in that area.