Monday, 4th March 2013
VALENTINE CANNINGS GETS JUST 7 YEARS FOR STABBING FELLOW STUDENT KEVIN LINOGI – In what has become standard practice in criminal justice Valentine Cannings was sentenced to just 7 years in prison for the brutal stabbing of a fellow student Kevin Linogi, which was captured on CCTV outside the college campus.
Cannings was arrest just hours after the stabbing and when questioned by police as to the motive Cannings responded by say; “He was giving me dodgy looks in the classroom.”
In sentencing Cannings the Judge told the court…
“I hope that today’s sentence acts as some comfort to the victim, his family and friends as well as sending a very strong message to others that knife crime is not tolerated in the West Midlands.”
I am not sure I fully agree with the Judge’s assessment although there is only so much he can do as prescribed by Government legislation and considering the abhorrent track record of those receiving multiple suspended sentences before actually seeing the inside of one our 5 Star prison establishments, this is a refreshing change to see a judge send someone down on a first offence.
Kevin Linogi did survive the attack but what would have happened if that had not been the case? Certainly Cannings would not have been tried for premeditated murder so it is likely that his custodial sentence would have been between 10 and 15 years.
Of course Cannings crime was not that of murder or even attempted murder but rather ‘wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.’
The worrying aspect here is that Cannings will no doubt be back on the streets within 4 years and what danger does he pose to the general public?
Should this type of crime, regardless of whether the victim survived or not carry a much harsher penalty? It would appear that British justice simply does not take this into account and surely anyone capable of such a vicious and unprovoked attack should be sentenced to life, in order to protect the public.
In my mind there is no doubt that harsher penalties need imposing and that government should hold a referendum as to whether the death penalty should be reinstated for crimes of murder.
