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

[Edinlass]

If that's true, then it's different from England where the offender can refuse to appear, and be sentenced in their absence. A recent example is Ian Stewart, the killer of Helen Bailey and her dog Boris.
I think this is wrong, and a convicted person should be brought into court for sentencing whether they like it or not.

Yes - Scottish and English laws are quite complex in comparisons. I’ve always found it strange given that we are made up of the United Kingdom.

 

[Popcorn80]

How will sentencing work? Will he he given a certain amount of years that will be broken down separately for each conviction?
If that’s the case will they run together or will they run consecutively?

 

[TaylorCallum]

How will sentencing work? Will he he given a certain amount of years that will be broken down separately for each conviction?
If that’s the case will they run together or will they run consecutively?

I'm not a 100% on this, other posters will know better than me, but as far as I'm aware he will be given a life sentence and his convictions will run concurrently. So he won't say, for example, be given 20 years for murder, 8 years for rape, 5 years for abduction etc. He will be given perhaps a minimum of 20 years without parole for everything.
Since he's currently 16 he'll kept in a Young Offenders Institute until he is 21 and then he will be transferred to an adult prison to carry out the remainder of his sentence. There's also the option that the judge will give him an indefinite sentence which means he could be in prison for potentially the rest of his life if he is deemed a threat to society, like Lord Matthews said (however I very much doubt that will happen).

 

[Eve71]

That's what i thought.

I thought he could choose not to go. Didn’t Bellfield refuse to attend his sentencing ?

 

[TaylorCallum]

I thought he could choose not to go. Didn’t Bellfield refuse to attend his sentencing ?

I think like @Edinlass said, it's different for Scotland and England.

 

[Eve71]

I'm not a 100% on this, other posters will know better than me, but as far as I'm aware he will be given a life sentence and his convictions will run concurrently. So he won't say, for example, be given 20 years for murder, 8 years for rape, 5 years for abduction etc. He will be given perhaps a minimum of 20 years without parole for everything.
Since he's currently 16 he'll kept in a Young Offenders Institute until he is 21 and then he will be transferred to an adult prison to carry out the remainder of his sentence. There's also the option that the judge will give him an indefinite sentence which means he could be in prison for potentially the rest of his life if he is deemed a threat to society, like Lord Matthews said (however I very much doubt that will happen).

That’s what I thought. Each aspect will be looked at separately but the sentence will run as a whole. Reading between the lines of Lord Matthews comments , I’m sure he’d prefer a whole life tariff with no chance of release but I doubt he will be able to pass that sentence . It’s going to be a long one though....30 years or more.

 

[Yenriac]

I thought he could choose not to go. Didn’t Bellfield refuse to attend his sentencing ?

That's in England, Scottish Law is different.

 

[Cherwell]

That's in England, Scottish Law is different.

Is it definitely different on this specific matter?

 

[Edinlass]

I tried to find online a definite answer to the sentancing guidelines and if the accused has to attend but it’s a minefield. I’ve never heard of anyone not attending their sentancing in Scotland. Maybe someone else could better advise though, I think he will attend for what it’s worth.

 

[Edinlass]

That’s what I thought. Each aspect will be looked at separately but the sentence will run as a whole. Reading between the lines of Lord Matthews comments , I’m sure he’d prefer a whole life tariff with no chance of release but I doubt he will be able to pass that sentence . It’s going to be a long one though....30 years or more.

Yes it will run concurrently, PYOI until he is 21 then probably Shotts men’s prison for the remainder then hell.

 

[TaylorCallum]

Yes it will run concurrently, PYOI until he is 21 then probably Shotts men’s prison for the remainder then hell.

Sorry, I know this is a very serious matter but I laughed at "then hell".
But yeah that's what I thought regarding the sentencing.

 

[Edinlass]

Sorry, I know this is a very serious matter but I laughed at "then hell".
But yeah that's what I thought regarding the sentencing.

Ha ha. Even hell is too good for him eh.

 

[TaylorCallum]

Ha ha. Even hell is too good for him eh.

Shotts (or whatever adult prison he goes to) might be like hell for him if he isn't kept secure.

 

[Kikixxxx]

Do we think he’ll get killed in prison? He’s not gna be protected in solitary forever, some point they’ll get to him, someone high profile like him too someone will want the recognition of murdering him. Like Jeffrey Dahmer.

 

[Edinlass]

Shotts (or whatever adult prison he goes to) might be like hell for him if he isn't kept secure.

Oh I don’t know, they’re like holiday camps. I’d be more happy with him in a jail in Bali or somewhere. The problem with UK jails is prisoners are segregated from other inmates and peodophiles, child killers are kept together and so on. Easier life for the prison officers, and that’s what it’s all about. Just like how easy it is to obtain drugs in jails, easier than on the streets but it keeps jails calm if they’re all high as kites. Sad society we live in.

 

[TaylorCallum]

Do we think he’ll get killed in prison? He’s not gna be protected in solitary forever, some point they’ll get to him, someone high profile like him too someone will want the recognition of murdering him. Like Jeffrey Dahmer.

You would think that he would but then people like Ian Brady, Ian Huntley and all other sorts of child rapists, serial killers etc. weren't killed in prison so it's probably not as likely as we'd believe. I think the US is different in that regard. I kind of wish Dahmer wasn't killed honestly, what he did was awful but he was pretty forthcoming and honest with what he did, especially for a serial killer, and I think he could have been studied more. I found his prison interviews very fascinating. From a selfish standpoint I do wish there were more.

 

[TaylorCallum]

Oh I don’t know, they’re like holiday camps. I’d be more happy with him in a jail in Bali or somewhere. The problem with UK jails is prisoners are segregated from other inmates and peodophiles, child killers are kept together and so on.

Yeah, I know you are very right. I think I'm forgetting we're in the UK. They're very soft here. Unless he gets grouped with meaner, tougher child killers, I'm not sure how he would deal with that. But we'll see in the future I suppose.

 

[Edinlass]

Yeah, I know you are very right. I think I'm forgetting we're in the UK. They're very soft here. Unless he gets grouped with meaner, tougher child killers, I'm not sure how he would deal with that. But we'll see in the future I suppose.

These types probably all speak about there crimes together, makes me sick tbh.

 

[Edinlass]

You would think that he would but then people like Ian Brady, Ian Huntley and all other sorts of child rapists, serial killers etc. weren't killed in prison so it's probably not as likely as we'd believe. I think the US is different in that regard. I kind of wish Dahmer wasn't killed honestly, what he did was awful but he was pretty forthcoming and honest with what he did, especially for a serial killer, and I think he could have been studied more. I found his prison interviews very fascinating. From a selfish standpoint I do wish there were more.

I know, although didn’t Ian Huntley get boiling water chucked in his face and i’m also sure someone attacked him with a razor. I’d rather these types of incidents rather than death, it’s too easy.

 

[TaylorCallum]

These types probably all speak about there crimes together, makes me sick tbh.

Eww imagine. But I feel like Aaron might not even do that because he still claims innocence, so he might maintain his innocence even with other child killers? Unless he thinks they won't tell anyone.