GUILTY UK - Sarah Everard, 33, London, Clapham Common area, 3 Mar 2021 *Life sentence* #16

[Moll]

10:07am
Couzens is 'filled with self-loathing and abject shame'


Jim Sturman QC has started his mitigation in defence of Wayne Couzens.

He tells the Old Bailey: "Nothing I say is meant to minimise the horror of what the defendant did that night."

Mr Sturman said that he has offered no excuse for what he did.

He added: "Accepts that he will receive a harsh sentence... he is filled with self-loathing and abject shame - and he should be."

There is little mitigation, the lawyer said. But "the battle ground is whether it should be full life sentence".
(Telegraph)

 

[infinit]

Genuine remorse? If he had even a tinge of remorse he'd disclose what actually happened.

 

[kittythehare]

Wayne Couzens timeline: footage shows movements before murdering Sarah Everard

 

[Moll]

10:07am
Couzens is 'filled with self-loathing and abject shame'


Jim Sturman QC has started his mitigation in defence of Wayne Couzens.

He tells the Old Bailey: "Nothing I say is meant to minimise the horror of what the defendant did that night."

Mr Sturman said that he has offered no excuse for what he did.

He added: "Accepts that he will receive a harsh sentence... he is filled with self-loathing and abject shame - and he should be."

There is little mitigation, the lawyer said. But "the battle ground is whether it should be full life sentence".
(Telegraph)

 

[Loopysnoop]

This guy is worth a follow - lots of detail about the mitigating circumstances Total Crime (@totalcrime) / Twitter

 

[Moll]

10:08am
The three areas of mitigation, according to the defence

1. Early guilty pleas
2. Genuine remorse
3. The fact he was a serving police officer

 

[sriraaacha]

I wonder if Jim Sturman really believes that he doesn't deserve life in prison. So shocking that anybody would disagree otherwise.

 

[Sayrah]

Sturman says mental health professionals have examined Couzens. He says Couzens has not faked mental illness or tried to pull the wool over the eyes of a jury. He says Couzens has shown "genuine remorse" #SarahEverard

https://twitter.com/totalcrime/status/1443503641420345346?s=21

 

[Tullyjune]

His colleagues described him as “friendly and calm” - his colleagues also described him as “The Rapist”

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

He didn’t appear to live a law-abiding life if he were indecently exposing himself to women.

 

[Sayrah]

Sturman says "there is very little evidence" he travelled to London with the intent of murdering a woman, although he did intend to rape and kidnap a woman. #SarahEverard

https://twitter.com/totalcrime/status/1443504166211661827?s=21

 

[Moll]

'A cunning defendant would have spent weeks casing a web of lies'
Mr Sturman continued that "a cunning defendant would have spent weeks casting a web of lies".

But he insists his client did not that, sparing the Everard family from the "terrible" experience of "having to sit through nonsense".

He added that without a trial due to a guilty plea, the family were not subjected to "lies that are intended to bamboozle the jury, lies about the sexual element of the attack".

Mr Sturman added that Couzens' "special knowledge of a police officer - like Levi Bellfield did - spin a wicked defence that would have piled humiliation on the Everard family and six weeks of terror during a trial".

 

[Sayrah]

Sturman says Couzens used his own credit card to hire the car and did not seek to disguise himself. He says this is inconsistent with an intention to kill. He has admitted strangling her with the (police) belt #SarahEverard

https://twitter.com/totalcrime/status/1443504457426292739?s=21

 

[Sayrah]

Sturman says the family of Couzens were "staggered" by his "inexplicable" behaviour. He said it is to be hoped that therapy in prison might unlock the reasons why he did what he did. #SarahEverard

https://twitter.com/totalcrime/status/1443504677165883395?s=21

 

[Sayrah]

Sturman says it was a "truly horrible crime" with "dreadful consequences" for Sarah's family. But he insists it does not deserve a whole life sentence #SarahEverard

https://twitter.com/totalcrime/status/1443504912218927106?s=21

 

[Parmalade]

I wonder if Jim Sturman really believes that he doesn't deserve life in prison. So shocking that anybody would disagree otherwise.

I’ve always felt that a defence lawyer in a case like this would feel like the hardest and loneliest job in the world.

 

[SpursGyal]

How is him being a serving officer mitigation? Ridiculous.
He used that fact as a means to kidnap, rape and murder a innocent woman he plucked off the street at random, while she was walking home.
The defence while I know it’s their job is going to make my blood boil.

 

[Moll]

Telegraph
10:14am
Couzens' early guilty plea is genuine remorse, says defence


The fact Couzens pleaded guilty and spared the family from a trial is evidence that he is genuinely remorseful, Jim Sturman told the Old Bailey.

 

[Whitehall 1212]

I wonder if Jim Sturman really believes that he doesn't deserve life in prison. So shocking that anybody would disagree otherwise.

Yer man's just doing his job - representing his client. I'm sure he is equally appalled but this is British Justice and everyone deserves a fair hearing.

Although - advancing serving police officer as mitigation - my first though was WTF and I'm not prone to profanity!

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

The rest of the serving police officers in this country will have their lives made harder because of WC’s actions. They don’t deserve that. The average person in this country should be able to trust the police. The fact that he was a police officer and used that equipment and skills to terrify makes him even more dangerous imo