'No tag' birthday gift to young convict
It would be a tyrant who tagged someone on their 21st birthday and at Christmas, judge says
London: A judge agreed not to fit a criminal with an electronic tag because of his 21st birthday plans — and that only a ‘tyrant' would impose such a punishment.
Corey Brown had been ordered to do 150 hours of community service for his role in the theft of a pensioner's car, but when he failed to turn up for the work sessions five times he was hauled back into court to be given a curfew and an electronic tag.
But he was spared after complaining that the punishment would ruin his plans for a night out on his 21st birthday.
Recorder David Hall told a stunned courtroom: "It would be a tyrant who tagged someone on their 21st birthday and at Christmas."
Turning to Brown — who had sat smirking throughout the hearing at Warwick Crown Court — Recorder Hall then said: "If I give you seven more hours [of community service] to do, and you keep out of trouble, is that a fair deal?"
Brown, from Bedworth, Warwickshire, simply nodded, and then walked free from court.
On Tuesday, victims' groups reacted furiously to the decision, saying it would ‘undermine confidence in the criminal justice system'.
In March, Brown was given a 36-week jail sentence, suspended for two years, and 150 hours' community service after he was caught with the keys of a Lexus that had been stolen from a 70-year-old woman. The £30,000 (Dh 171,614) car had been used in a series of raids on shops in the Coundon area of Coventry in November last year.
When police raided Brown's home, they discovered the keys hidden in his bedpost. Brown admitted handling stolen goods.
But after failing to turn up for his community service placements on five occasions, on Monday he was brought back into court — which could have seen him sent straight to prison to carry out his original 36-week sentence. The court heard that Brown, who lives with his grandmother, had also missed three sessions of a ‘Thinking Skills' programme that he had been ordered to complete. Despite this, his lawyer asked the court to be lenient, because of Brown's birthday.
— Daily Mail
