It doesn't matter a toss of who he is and what he has done or does for a living; neither does it matter that it is 'normal' for others bring home spoils of war (spoils of the same nature); he and they all know it is a criminal offence. I have legally held items, but if I were caught in possession of an illegal firearm, I know full well what the implications are and ignorance of the law, my profession or health make no f-in difference whatsoever. AL
I cannot imagine for one minute that his legal team were that thick so as not to forewarn him of the likely outcome of pursuing the matter, which in the circumstances and in the light that he is still digging a hole for himself, I suspect he ignored. However I am of the opinion that his supporters and those that encouraged him without any sense of advocacy should shoulder some of the blame for his latest predicament. I really fail to see how "Yes, it is my gun and ammunition" can become "It wasn't me, it was him.....I made it all up because I was ill" wouldn't be greeted with derision. AL
May be we should ask the parents/friends/colleagues/family/partners of these to what their thoughts on illegal fire arms are?
Or the legal ones... Peterlee shootings: coroner calls for radical overhaul of gun licensing | UK news | guardian.co.uk
The original sentence was reduced by one-third for a guilty plea, which is required by the Sentencing Guidelines, so following a not guilty plea and conviction that reduction is now lost. Mitigation is argued before sentencing, which after a guilty plea includes regret, apology, contrition, etc - that element is not available following a not guilty plea, and a refusal to acknowledge guilt after conviction makes matters worse. An attempt to cast blame on someone else could be seen as an aggravating factor. Dismissal was pleaded against on the grounds he could usefully soldier on, so he was not dismissed, but that argument has also fallen away now. Thus a substantially more severe sentence is certainly to be expected, unless the previous sentence is held to be a legally binding ceiling. Originally Sgt Nightingale was sentenced to 18 months detention for the Glock and 6 months for the 300 rounds of ammo, concurrent. The CMAC reduced the Glock to 12 months and increased the ammo to 12 months concurrent and suspended. The nominal increase was evidently a warning - don't push your luck sergeant. Stealing the ammo was never charged, so it seems he has got off scot free as regards all the thefts which is quite a result.
Did you mean: 'I really fail to see how "Yes, it is my gun and ammunition" can become "It wasn't me, it was him.....I made it all up because I was ill" wouldn't be greeted with derision.'
His leading counsel is William Clegg QC. Bill Clegg is brilliant at his job, very experienced in Court Martial cases, and must have had a complete understanding of the situation and the likely outcome. He did his best to contrive some kind of a defence, as he was no doubt instructed to do, but had very little to work with. We don't know exactly what advice Sgt Nightingale has been given. But we do know that his previous counsel advised him that if he was convicted following a not guilty plea, he risked a five year prison sentence. He later argued in the CMAC that that advice had placed undue pressure on him to plead guilty, an argument which the CMAC accepted. Well OK, but the advice was actually correct and he has now placed himself back in exactly that situation.
The Court Officer at Bulford tells me the sentencing is due to take place on Thursday 25 July from 9 a.m. onwards. The Court Martial Appeal Court was not willing to give a ruling on the issue discussed; the CMAC's position is that the Court Martial judge must give his judgment first and only if one or other party appeals will the CMAC consider it. The Judge Advocate General as the trial judge has therefore given his ruling on the issue. The gist of that judgment is that the recent trial is defined as a 'retrial' in terms of the statute, and the new sentence is not permitted to be 'more severe' than the sentence passed by the previous Court Martial. Note that the ceiling is the sentence as passed by the CM, not the reduced sentence as per the CMAC. So that would appear to mean the ceiling is 18 months military detention, not suspended. If that turns out to be the sentence passed on Thursday, either prosecution or defence (or possibly both) might well bring appeals to the CMAC yet again. Sgt Nightingale may yet be heading back to Colchester, but not to prison it would appear. The saga has a little way to run yet, it seems.
It has been reported that a sentence of 2 years detention has been passed. Not sure if that is correct, if the ceiling was 18 months. Further details to follow.
Former SAS sniper spared jail after being given suspended sentence for possession of a pistol and ammunition | Mail Online Judge criticises former SAS sniper Danny Nightingale's 'spurious defence' as he avoids jail - Telegraph All is now clear. The Court Martial was legally constrained not to pass a sentence "more severe" than the previous one, but there is no strict legal definition of what "more severe" means. The court evidently decided that 24 months detention suspended is not more severe than 18 months not suspended. The JAG explained that a custodial sentence to be served was fully deserved by Sgt Nightingale, but the court felt constrained by the previous judgment of the Court Martial Appeal Court so he has in the end got off very lightly indeed. The JAG rapped over the knuckles various politicians and media persons whose earlier behaviour and comments were completely out of order, as has now become clear. Doubt if they will apologise, though. Mrs Nightingale turns out to be so extraordinarily resistant to learning any lessons at all from events that one can't help wondering if the alleged brain damage is catching.
Being as she is a christian she will probably argue black is white with the Ultimate Judge too, quite a humble lady really.
Bloody good job he wasn't tried by some of the know alls on here, he'd have been shot at dawn. Jeezzz !
No he would have gone to jail where we would have footed the bill for keeping him there instead he walks free. We leave the shooting to responsible people.....like him
