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Whisper

#byefelicia
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Mark Laverick, 41 (pictured), of Stanley, County Durham, was jailed at Newcastle Crown Court for 10 years for trying to set his wife Beverley on fire

[...]
jealous husband who doused his wife of 22 years in petrol before trying to set her alight has been jailed for a minimum of 10 years.

Mark Laverick,
[...]
showered his wife Beverley in petrol before trying to set her on fire with matches and a lighter.

The 41-year-old targeted his wife of more than two decades as she walked home from dropping their six-year-old daughter at school
[...]
His attempts to set his partner on fire were only thwarted when the wind prevented his matches from lighting, and a passer-by confronted him after hearing his victim's terrified screams.

Laverick was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison, with an extended five-year licence period, after pleading guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent
[...]
on Friday. A charge of attempted murder was dropped.
[...]
John Milford QC branded Laverick 'dangerous' and also imposed a restraining order to keep him away from his estranged wife and their children.
[...]
judge said it was miraculous that the mother of three was not turned into a 'human torch' in the attack.

He said: 'Miraculously the petrol did not ignite.

'Had it ignited she would have become a human fireball and suffered injuries which would have been painful in the extreme and disfiguring, almost certainly, for the rest of her life.

'One can think of few crueller crimes, short of murder, than setting someone alight.
[...]
The court heard that Laverick had been assessed as posing a high risk of causing harm to his wife and any future partner.
[...]
Katherine Dunn told the court the couple, who had been together for 22 years and have three children together, had split prior to the incident on June 30.
Their relationship had broken down in February and she had left him to go and live with her mother.
[....]
weeks before the attack, Laverick made a series of threats towards his estranged wife and two days before the attack posted online: 'It's going to be hell or a cell for me like. I really don't care anymore.'
[...]
targeted his wife as she returned from dropping her daughter at school. He approached her and accused of her of being with someone else, before telling her: 'It ends today.'

Ms Dunn told
[...]
'He was carrying a bottle and he unscrewed the lid and threw the liquid into her face.

'It immediately began to burn her eyes and smelled like turps. She tried to run away from him but couldn't see where she was going and he chased her and continued to throw the liquid over her.'
Ms Dunn told the court
[...]
then began striking matches and throwing them, but they could not light because of the wind.

'As he was throwing matches she was begging him to stop,
[...]
'She ran terrified into a nearby garden and tried to get help but the property was locked. She was screaming "please help me".
[...]
pushed her up against the fence and then used his lighter to try to set her on fire. He was flicking his lighter against her clothes, he tried to do this four or five times.'
[...]
court heard Laverick ran off when a neighbour came out of her house after hearing his victim's terrified screams.

Mrs Laverick was taken to hospital where she was treated for eye irritation.
[...]
In a victim impact statement read to the court, she said she had 'never been so scared'.
He had such blankness in his eyes as he threw the matches towards me,'
[...]
'All I could think of was my children.'

Grandmother Pat Bott, 64, told the court how she managed to distract Laverick after hearing his wife's desperate pleas.
[...]
was passing, with her 18-year-old grandaughter Sam, when she heard Mrs Laverick screaming: 'Help, help he's going to burn me.'
[....]
'He had poured petrol all over her and when we went out he was trying to light his lighter.

'I shouted "What you doing, leave her alone" and she managed to get free from him.
[...]
'She was very upset and in tears. With me shouting, she said it gave her the strength to run.'
[...]
who was nominated for a bravery award by police for her actions, said Laverick was still lurking outside when she looked out after dialling 999.
[...]
'He stopped at the gate and I was thinking "you dare come in my garden".

'I can remember calling him a blooming idiot and then he went away.'

When Laverick was arrested, he told police he had only set out to scare his wife.

Christopher Knox
[...]
said Laverick was depressed at the time, but had now found happiness with a new partner despite being behind bars.
[...]
'He has, in the time he has been in custody, realised what he has done.

'He is regretful and apologetic.

'He regarded the marriage breakdown as terminal to his life.
[..]
The judge said Laverick would spend until at least 2029 behind bars due to his 10-year prison sentence and the extended licence period.
SOURCE
http://www.nationalheadlines.co.uk/...ing-to-set-her-alight-is-jailed-for-10-years/
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Pat Bott, 64, (pictured with her grandaughter Sam, 18), confronted Laverick before calling police after hearing the victim's desperate screams for help
 
10 years for an attempt? Holy shit, that's like 1000 times harsher then i would expect from that pussy country
 
And he didn't even get done for attempted murder, wtf? I'd be calling him more than a blooming idiot, I just love wee grannies. In a nice way, I know how you people think lol.
 
This could easily have been so much more horrific. Thank fuck it didn't pan out like that.Evil fucker should have gotten a lot more than 10 years.

But on a side note - I have taken some flak elsewhere for appearing to be even slightly disrespectful to the sensibilities of Americans about their country. So to hear one of you - Jack Burton - referring to my country as "that pussy country" is a bit rich, to be honest.

Yes, our legal system can often be way too lenient sometimes - the vast majority of us totally agree that it is and get angry about that. If you wanted to attack our legal system for that, we'd all pretty much agree with you. But to refer to our country itself - and not just our legal system - as "that pussy country" really does show the kind of ignorant contempt that would send you guys batshit crazy if I or any other Brit ever said that about America or Americans.

Our soldiers fight and die alongside yours in almost every war you choose to get involved with. To call us "that pussy country" is an insult to their memory!
 
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QUOTE: A charge of attempted murder was dropped.

There are so many fails in this story where would I begin that irritates me the most? What more would he have to do to meet the criteria for attempted murder? Even the judge said she's lucky to be alive and not burned.
 
This could easily have been so much more horrific. Thank fuck it didn't pan out like that.Evil fucker should have gotten a lot more than 10 years.

But on a side note - I have taken some flak elsewhere for appearing to be even slightly disrespectful to the sensibilities of Americans about their country. So to hear one of you - Jack Burton - referring to my country as "that pussy country" is a bit rich, to be honest.

Yes, our legal system can often be way too lenient sometimes - the vast majority of us totally agree that it is and get angry about that. If you wanted to attack our legal system for that, we'd all pretty much agree with you. But to refer to our country itself - and not just our legal system - as "that pussy country" really does show the kind of ignorant contempt that would send you guys batshit crazy if I or any other Brit ever said that about America or Americans.

Our soldiers fight and die alongside yours in almost every war you choose to get involved with. To call us "that pussy country" is an insult to their memory!

Holy shit, fly off the handles much? I call it as a pussy country in a comment regarding light violent crime sentencing, and instead of inferring that i'm referring to the countrys legal system/gov't, you somehow form a belief that i'm calling the entirety of the nation including its military pussies? The fuck?

And the only person making this into some america vs england thing is you, never made any comparisons myself and just for your info i bash america for similar reasons on a regular basis.

Get over yourself, and use your brain before posting next time, thanks.

Anyways, def agree with about the lack of an attempted murder charge. That seems to be the most rarely charged crime in existence, mindboggling.
 
'Had it ignited she would have become a human fireball and suffered injuries which would have been painful in the extreme and disfiguring, almost certainly, for the rest of her life.

Gee, Judge, ya think? That's if she were even lucky enough to survive.

The court heard that Laverick had been assessed as posing a high risk of causing harm to his wife and any future partner.

Good thing he'll be released before he's 50 then... plenty of time to form more relationships and seek revenge on the previous ones.

'He stopped at the gate and I was thinking "you dare come in my garden".
'I can remember calling him a blooming idiot and then he went away.'

So very British. I love this lady.
 
Holy shit, fly off the handles much? I call it as a pussy country in a comment regarding light violent crime sentencing, and instead of inferring that i'm referring to the countrys legal system/gov't, you somehow form a belief that i'm calling the entirety of the nation including its military pussies? The fuck?

And the only person making this into some america vs england thing is you, never made any comparisons myself and just for your info i bash america for similar reasons on a regular basis.

Get over yourself, and use your brain before posting next time, thanks.

Anyways, def agree with about the lack of an attempted murder charge. That seems to be the most rarely charged crime in existence, mindboggling.
Ok, but you did say "pussy country" and not "your country's pussy legal system". I just took your words literally.

Your fellow American - Buffetgirl - came down on me like a ton of bricks for much less, though in the end I was man enough to apologise for any uninteded offence caused. I dread to think what a total shitstorm would have burst down upon me if I had ever refered to "that pussy country" when discussing anything to do with America.

"and use your brain before posting next time, thanks."

Lol, talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You should seriously take your own advice there because if you didn't mean what it looked like you meant, your choice of words were piss poor, and betrayed a total lack of thought. At least when I inadvertently cause offense through poor choice of words, I have the good grace to admit and apologise for it. You merely want to throw insults.

I accept that you didn't actually mean what your poor choice of words appeared to be saying by the way, now that you have clarified. So if you quit with the personal insults, we can move on.
 
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I'm not one to sugarcoat my comments and i put a lot of faith(however misplaced it may be) in people not ignoring the context of a discussion when reading them. I also don't care too much about other users or their life stories(could care less about this buffetgirl or your past america vs england disputes). Might help you avoid heartache in future threads to know all that.

So if you quit with the personal insults

Never started with em.

Good resolve on this though chap, we can both agree this guy is a piece of shit and Englands legal system is run by a bunch of pussy candyasses who don't give a shit about victims.

Curious question on that though, you said many people in your country are like you and hate the leniency in sentencing, what are they doin about it? In the States we got annoying blowhards ranting and raving nonstop on the horrid cable news shows about it, law makers trying to pass harsher laws as a result of the public outrage, people protesting and whatnot. There a lot of that type of stuff goin on in england? There any significant push for stiffer sentencing or signs of it becoming a reality in the future?
 
Well that's the big mystery.

The public are clamouring for tougher sentences, the media are frequently campaigning for them, and politicians are always promising to get tougher, and frequently court popularity by increasing maximum fines or jail penalties.

The problem appears to be our judiciary itself. Our judges are often notoriously out of touch, and very rarely impose maximum sentences. And politicians will not sack or replace such judges because here in the UK, politicians being able to dismiss or appoint judges at will is seen as potentially tyrrranous, because these same judges are our guarantors against overmighty politicians subverting or misusing the law. So politicians have avoided giving themselves the power to sack judges. It's all kind of mixed up in our constitutional arrangements in regards to seperation of powers and things like that.

Most judges here are also drawn from the upper echelons of society and know absolutely nothing about life on ordinary street except how to spell it.

What to do about all this is a very difficult matter and one best kept for Three Things
 
Our prisons are also busting at the seams, there's no room to build more, and funding has been slashed, resulting in far fewer corrections officers.
 
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