• UK - Man who stabbed burglar to death will not face any charges
    51 replies, posted
[quote][B]A man who fatally stabbed an intruder during an alleged burglary at his home in Greater Manchester will not be charged over the death.[/B] Vincent Cooke, 39, stabbed Raymond Jacob, 37, during a struggle in Bramhall on 17 September. The Crown Prosecution Service said he would face no charges having ruled that he acted in "reasonable self defence". In a statement read by his solicitor, Mr Cooke said: "I will never forget the day that I had to fight for my life." He added: "It has been a living nightmare for me and my family and I'm still suffering flashbacks of the incident. "I am most relieved that the CPS have decided not to charge me with any offence." He added: "I would like in due course to be able to thank everyone personally, however as there is a person awaiting a court hearing concerning this matter I have been advised not to make any further comments at this time." His solicitor Kieran Henry said the incident had changed Mr Cooke's life and added: "They have had to move their whole roots away from the area. They have a beautiful house and home." Nazir Afzal, chief crown prosecutor for the North West area, said: "It is clear to me that Mr Cooke did what he honestly and instinctively believed was necessary on that day to protect himself, his home and his family from intruders." The prosecutor said evidence showed Mr Cooke had been taken upstairs at knifepoint, and that during a struggle with Raymond Jacob, he had stabbed the intruder. "At the time he was in fear for his own safety and the safety of his wife and son, who arrived at the house as the incident was happening," Mr Afzal added. Ch Supt Rebekah Sutcliffe, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "When presented with the circumstances of that evening the correct decision was to make the arrests. "It was crucial that we conducted a thorough and open-minded investigation into the events. "I am satisfied that we provided the full facts of the case to the CPS to enable them to make an appropriate decision." Following the incident, the family of known offender Mr Jacob later said they had been "distressed" at the events and supported the police inquiry to find out what happened. Michael Anthony Thorpe, 33, of Outwood Road, Heald Green, Stockport, was later arrested and charged with aggravated burglary. He is accused of entering Mr Cooke's house armed with a knife, and is expected to stand trial at Manchester Crown Court on 2 December. [B]It is the third time in Greater Manchester in recent months that self-defence has been deemed acceptable after a suspected intruder has been killed.[/B] In July, the CPS announced no action would be taken against Peter Flanagan, 59, who was accused of stabbing suspected burglar John Leonard Bennell, 27, to death in Salford. Prosecutors ruled that Mr Flanagan had used "reasonable force" during the incident. Shopkeeper Cecil Coley, 72, was arrested in July after Gary Mullings suffered fatal wounds during a struggle at his florist shop in Old Trafford. No charges were brought against Mr Coley after it was determined he acted "in reasonable self-defence".[/quote] [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-15211250]Source.[/url]
that's alright
That's good. The burglar entered his house with a knife, and had him with knifepoint, that is self defense for sure. Shame the guy had to die, but he had to protect himself and his family.
Holy shit the justice system actually worked for once.
Huh, he killed somebody. You don't get to do that too often, not without serious consequences. So I guess that's cool in a way.
[QUOTE=Gekkosan;32668864]Huh, he killed somebody. You don't get to do that too often, not without serious consequences. So I guess that's cool in a way.[/QUOTE] the guy has ptsd now, it's anything but "cool"
[QUOTE=Gekkosan;32668864]Huh, he killed somebody. You don't get to do that too often, not without serious consequences. So I guess that's cool in a way.[/QUOTE] that's cool in a way? what?!
[QUOTE=Gekkosan;32668864]Huh, he killed somebody. You don't get to do that too often, not without serious consequences. So I guess that's cool in a way.[/QUOTE]Killing people is cool, too bad it's illegal. On a less sarcastic note, it's nice to see an innocent not get charged for defending themselves.
[QUOTE=Gekkosan;32668864]Huh, he killed somebody. You don't get to do that too often, not without serious consequences. So I guess that's cool in a way.[/QUOTE] This is anything but "cool", he killed a man and sounds like he has PTSD. He did with he had to do. All your posts I ever see make me cringe.
[QUOTE=Gekkosan;32668864]Huh, he killed somebody. You don't get to do that too often, not without serious consequences. So I guess that's cool in a way.[/QUOTE] How is killing cool in any way you sick asshole?
I'm glad he's not going to face any charges, dealing with being responsible for the death of someone must be terrible enough as it is and jail time would only make things worse.
excellent sick of seeing people getting caught up in the legal system for defending their land / home / family. Hopefully this case will bring a wave of appeals
[QUOTE=Godline;32668960]excellent sick of seeing people getting caught up in the legal system for defending their land / home / family. Hopefully this case will bring a wave of appeals[/QUOTE] you do realize that every self-defense case is not the same, right?
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;32668889]the guy has ptsd now, it's anything but "cool"[/QUOTE] ptsd, huh?
[QUOTE=Gekkosan;32669156]ptsd, huh?[/QUOTE] [quote]In a statement read by his solicitor, Mr Cooke said: "I will never forget the day that I had to fight for my life." He added: "It has been a living nightmare for me and my family and [b]I'm still suffering flashbacks of the incident.[/b][/quote] I mean I'm not an expert so I can't say for definite that he has PTSD, but it's certainly fucked him up emotionally.
[QUOTE=Lazor;32668976]you do realize that every self-defense case is not the same, right?[/QUOTE] Of course im just sick of reading about people getting sent away for "attacking" people in their own homes. I.e. stabbing someone in the back in the eyes of the courts its seen as assault as the intruder can claim they were running away even though they were on someone else's property.
WAIT, the British justice system worked? OH MY BALLS But really, im 110% behind the guy, you should always defend your home.
Umm,Just when did justice system get reasonable?
[QUOTE=Mr.Fancy_hat;32670039]Umm,Just when did justice system get reasonable?[/QUOTE] Every self defence case is different, it seems that in this case the person didn't do anything wrong.
Well this is fucked up, the same thing happened to a member of my family and he got sent down for it.
Huh, what are the rules regarding intruders in the UK anyways? I know that here in Arizona (gun-tote central), if someone breaks and enters your home, you are by all rights allowed to shoot them without question. You don't even have to give them a warning, just blast away
He did right. I doubt he intended to kill the other man but when theirs a knife involved in a struggle things can happen. Glad he's not being charged guilty.
[QUOTE=ewitwins;32670136]Huh, what are the rules regarding intruders in the UK anyways? I know that here in Arizona (gun-tote central), if someone breaks and enters your home, you are by all rights allowed to shoot them without question. You don't even have to give them a warning, just blast away[/QUOTE] You can in theory defend [B]life and limb[/B], there are numerous cases of people being arrested and charged (and in some cases found guilty) for killing intruders. Its not that clear it seems.
[QUOTE=Gekkosan;32668864]Huh, he killed somebody. You don't get to do that too often, not without serious consequences. So I guess that's cool in a way.[/QUOTE] You are about to get enough boxes to add an extension to your cardboard house. Enjoy. OT: This is how it should be. Criminals are scum. If YOU enter my house, and YOU hold me at knife/gunpoint, then YOU deserve to get YOUR ASS kicked.
[QUOTE=Gekkosan;32669156]ptsd, huh?[/QUOTE] I'm guessing he means Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
[QUOTE=Jsm;32670311]You can in theory defend [B]life and limb[/B], there are numerous cases of people being arrested and charged (and in some cases found guilty) for killing intruders. Its not that clear it seems.[/QUOTE] The coalition has said they want to make it easier for people to defend their homes. Seems like they're actually going through with it, good on them.
I used to go to college near Bramhall, this story relates to me!!
[QUOTE=ewitwins;32670136]Huh, what are the rules regarding intruders in the UK anyways? I know that here in Arizona (gun-tote central), if someone breaks and enters your home, you are by all rights allowed to shoot them without question. You don't even have to give them a warning, just blast away[/QUOTE] My mates going Law for his A levels, so I know that you can use equal force or something, meaning if they hit you, you hit them back. They pull out a knife, you can stab them theoretically
Wait, wait, stop the fucking presses Is this something actually [B][U][I]working as it's meant to?[/I][/U][/B] Holy shit, I guess we can do something right after all.
[QUOTE=ewitwins;32670136]Huh, what are the rules regarding intruders in the UK anyways? I know that here in Arizona (gun-tote central), if someone breaks and enters your home, you are by all rights allowed to shoot them without question. You don't even have to give them a warning, just blast away[/QUOTE] You can use reasonable force to defend yourself or your family. Most of the 'newsworthy' cases of people being formally charged for defended themselves over the last few years have been people who attacked burglars who were in the process of leaving (e.g. in the Tony Martin case) or had already left the premises. If someone is fleeing from you or your house, you or your family are not under threat. In this case, the man acted correctly - his life (or, legally speaking, a reasonable person would consider their life to be under threat in his situation) was under threat, and he reacted reasonably given the circumstances.
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