UK - Alesha MacPhail, 6, raped & murdered, Ardbeg, Isle of Bute, Scotland, 2 Jul 2018 -*arrest* #4

[Yenriac]

I hope he ends up in Carstairs - don't think the electric shock treatment is used anymore tbh - I stand to be corrected

ECT treatment is still in use. In Scotland anyway. Not sure if they use it in state hospitals though.

 

[Ruthbullock]

I suspect that things might come out that would make life difficult for the sister. I wouldn’t dream that anyone would blame her but being a teenage girl in today’s society is hard enough without being known as ‘that child killer’s’ sister. Just my opinion but I think the courts need to look at her protection.

Sadly one thing that came out in the press during the trail was that at 14 years old she is also smoking weed. Before anyone jumps on me, that makes me feel more sorry for her not less.
Alesha MacPhail’s father tells jury he sold cannabis to teenager accused of her murder

 

[truthseeker1975]

ECT treatment is still in use. In Scotland anyway. Not sure if they use it in state hospitals though.

Its all NHS in uk free, unless you choose private, but in a crime situation, private not an option, for those outside uk and dont understand health service in uk, its one thing i love about uk unlike usa and a lot of other countries, that have to pay if they are ill or have accident in the uk its like a free human rights act, that i have to add every uk taxpayer pays and is proud of

 

[Bampot]

How killer tried to convince jury with a mask of innocence

Good article about demeanour of child rapist in court from Edinlass

 

[truthseeker1975]

I think tomorrow the judge may reveal his name now he has been found guilty

 

[404_notfound]

ECT is used in Scotland for the treatment of major depressive disorder. It is carried out relatively rarely, when other treatment for severe depression has failed and is done under general anaesthetic so the patient has no awareness or memory of it. It is not a cure for depravity, nor used as a punishment.

 

[beatrixpotter]

As I expected too but makes my heart hurt that a child his age could be capable of such depravity. I feel sick for all involved

Rest in peace little lass xx

This exactly. I'm glad he was found guilty. But saddened all around by the whole thing and sad for all involved. I hope he can get some actual help on top of being jailed.

 

[nothinonyou]

I was just thinking on the bus ride home; Alesha looked to be on the killers back in the cctv, and then he was holding her at his front. Surely getting on his back would actually require Alesha to do this herself? To go willingly with him? I guess it also suggests that she wasn’t asleep. Sorry if this is obvious and already explained but I just copped it now. I think he might have spun some lie about being friends with her dad and her dad said she had to go with him. And him being quiet young she wouldn’t have been too scared?
The whole thing is actually like a horror movie to me. So scary

 

[charlotte123456]

This exactly. I'm glad he was found guilty. But saddened all around by the whole thing and sad for all involved. I hope he can get some actual help on top of being jailed.

I don’t care about him getting help, I hope he suffers mental torment for the rest of his miserable life. Poor Alesha couldn’t access help when he ripped her from her family home in the dead of night. Soulless beast. Hell is waiting for him.

 

[bfin1995]

I was just thinking on the bus ride home; Alesha looked to be on the killers back in the cctv, and then he was holding her at his front. Surely getting on his back would actually require Alesha to do this herself? To go willingly with him? I guess it also suggests that she wasn’t asleep. Sorry if this is obvious and already explained but I just copped it now. I think he might have spun some lie about being friends with her dad and her dad said she had to go with him. And him being quiet young she wouldn’t have been too scared?
The whole thing is actually like a horror movie to me. So scary

It's difficult to say without seeing it in context. Maybe she was slung over his shoulder? The second CCTV with "legs dangling" suggests to me she was unconscious at this point. A child would normally grip with their legs.

 

[Ironside]

I think tomorrow the judge may reveal his name now he has been found guilty

I was 100% in agreement with him not being named during the trial but I'm totally fine with them naming him now. That would allow interviews with his friends so we could probably learn a lot more about the dynamics of the case.

 

[SJ16321]

It would be a pretty futile act to keep up the anonymity now. Everyone who wants to know will find out from a quick look on Twitter or Facebook. Guess we'll see what the judge says.

I just hope the press behave themselves in regards to RM and Alesha's mum. They should be left alone but the press are like vultures. One of my friends died in a car accident and the press camped outside his house hounding his partner until she gave in and gave them an interview.

 

[bfin1995]

Still catching up and saw this:

Mr McSporran also said the boy had been seen by a psychiatrist for possible "insanity or diminished responsibility".

He added: "There was no such issue." STV

 

[Taskforce88]

Still catching up and saw this:

Mr McSporran also said the boy had been seen by a psychiatrist for possible "insanity or diminished responsibility".

He added: "There was no such issue." STV

I am wondering how that works while the accused was still pleading not guilty

 

[404_notfound]

I am wondering how that works while the accused was still pleading not guilty

People plead not guilty for reasons of insanity or diminished responsibility all the time. This just means he was examined by psychiatric professionals and found to be of sound mind both in general and during the time frame of the crime. We talk about psychopaths but psychopathy isn't a mental illness that diminishes responsibility whereas say, psychosis, is.

 

[Bustia]

It would be a pretty futile act to keep up the anonymity now. Everyone who wants to know will find out from a quick look on Twitter or Facebook. Guess we'll see what the judge says.

I just hope the press behave themselves in regards to RM and Alesha's mum. They should be left alone but the press are like vultures. One of my friends died in a car accident and the press camped outside his house hounding his partner until she gave in and gave them an interview.

Totally agree that the press are vultures, my brother was attacked pretty seriously and was in a coma. The attack happened at 6pm and I didn’t go home until 7am the next morning for a change of clothes and the press were already parked at my house waiting on me. They even went to distant relatives homes and wouldn’t leave us alone.

 

[Yenriac]

I am wondering how that works while the accused was still pleading not guilty

His defence would have looked at all options including diminished responsibility.

 

[Ruthbullock]

I get and always got guilty of murder, I can see how they came to a group conclusion of rape- I still struggle to find truth in the abduction evidence. Did I miss something? And yes I obviously need the obvious pointing out as still
Something doesn’t make sense to me there.

 

[beatrixpotter]

I don’t care about him getting help, I hope he suffers mental torment for the rest of his miserable life. Poor Alesha couldn’t access help when he ripped her from her family home in the dead of night. Soulless beast. Hell is waiting for him.

And yet him getting help is what's most likely to cause him mental torment. I don't think he experiences that now based on his refusal to admit guilt for his horrific crimes and instead drag an innocent party through the mud for it. He's still behaving in a way with the intent to just hurt everyone else.

I think he needs help because I believe he needs to be able to truly admit and acknowledge the horrible things he's done and have some sense of shame, remorse and guilt for them. If you don't think he ought to receive help so he can acknowledge the depth of depravity he's sunk to and remorse for what he's done to Alesha and her family so be it.

To be clear however I am not defining "help" as any lessening of punishment for his crime. I think he should be jailed for life at least. Nor does the sorrow I feel for him equal in any way what I feel for his victims. But I can't help feeling sorrow for someone who has turned themselves into a monster and I don't wish to see them feed that monster in them for the rest of their lives.

 

[Ruthbullock]

And yet him getting help is what's most likely to cause him mental torment. I don't think he experiences that now based on his refusal to admit guilt for his horrific crimes and instead drag an innocent party through the mud for it. He's still behaving in a way with the intent to just hurt everyone else.

I think he needs help because I believe he needs to be able to truly admit and acknowledge the horrible things he's done and have some sense of shame, remorse and guilt for them. If you don't think he ought to receive help so he can acknowledge the depth of depravity he's sunk to and remorse for what he's done to Alesha and her family so be it.

To be clear however I am not defining "help" as any lessening of punishment for his crime. I think he should be jailed for life at least. Nor does the sorrow I feel for him equal in any way what I feel for his victims. But I can't help feeling sorrow for someone who has turned themselves into a monster and I don't wish to see them feed that monster in them for the rest of their lives.

Well said, if he can’t see what he has done and be made to understand it, there is no chance. You only need to watch the death row documentaries to realise that those who feel remorse pay a punishment, those that don’t just pass their time away without a care.