BS: Thatchers Revenge

Subject: Thatchers Revenge
From: GUEST,Red Eye
Date: 22 Jan 03 - 12:26 PM

Latest on the Maggie Thatcher story.

A political protester was warned he faced jail for publicly decapitating a £150,000 statue of Baroness Thatcher.

Paul Kelleher, 37, said he felt driven to carry out the decapitation both to protect his son and draw attention to the dangers facing the world.

After learning the 8ft Italian marble sculpture was going on show at London's Guildhall, the father-of-one carried out an initial "recce" before returning a few days later with a cricket bat under his raincoat.

But the towering likeness of the former premier, nicknamed the "Iron Lady" during her years in power, shrugged off the first blow to the head.

Undeterred, Kelleher used a metal pole from a nearby crowd control barrier to resume his assault which left the statue decapitated.

Kelleher, of Loring Road, Isleworth, West London, who never disputed what he did, showed no reaction as a jury of five women and seven men took less than an hour to reject his claims he had a "lawful excuse" for the attack.

They unanimously convicted him of one count of criminal damage on July 3 last year.

Judge George Bathurst-Norman told him: "I'm not going to deal with you today. I'm going to order a pre-sentence report.

"I am making no promises as to how I am going to deal with you, because prison obviously has to be an option."

Kelleher, who was allowed bail and told to be back at court on February 19, replied: "Fair enough, sir."

Subject: RE: Thatchers Revenge
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 22 Jan 03 - 01:41 PM

I can't understand how they could find a jury where all twelve of them voted to convict on this. And in Lpondon too. There's some funny people around.

Subject: RE: Thatchers Revenge
From: Dead Horse
Date: 22 Jan 03 - 05:51 PM

Justifiable Pesticide I call it.
Not Guilty.

Subject: RE: Thatchers Revenge
From: GUEST,sorefingers
Date: 22 Jan 03 - 06:23 PM

Well the Judge has a point, the pidgeons now have one less place to sit (insert yer own 'h') upon..

Send the dork to jail for cruelty to pidgeons

And this story is so old I barely recall all of the witty comments but I am working on it again.

Subject: RE: Thatchers Revenge
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 22 Jan 03 - 06:44 PM

Well the story came up last summer, but the trial reported in this thread only happened today, so it's hardly old news.

In fact it was a retrial - here's a link to the report of the last trial, in December. That ended with the jury being unable to agree on a verdict, even after being told that a majority verdict would do. Which implies that at least three jurors wanted to convict on that occasion (or possibly at least three wanted to acquit).

So far as I know there weren't any prosecutions of people for toppling statues of discredited politicians in Eastern Europe a few years ago.

Subject: RE: BS: Thatchers Revenge
From: Teribus
Date: 23 Jan 03 - 04:28 AM

Kevin in the first of his postings above states:

"I can't understand how they could find a jury where all twelve of them voted to convict on this."

I am equally surprised that the jury at his first trial could not reach a verdict. From the "Guardian" report on the first trial

"Defending himself, Mr Kelleher, 37, an events organiser from Isleworth, west London, admitted "there was no dispute" he had "lopped off" the head of the 7ft statue at London's Guildhall gallery on July 3 - a case of criminal damage."

Also from the "Guardian" report, I find the directions given to the jury quite bizarre:

"Directing the jury, Mr Justice Aikens said they could only decide that Mr Kelleher was legally justified in behaving in this way if they felt his well-being and that of his two-year-old son were immediately endangered by the economic and political system personified by Baroness Thatcher."

As the offence - i.e. causing criminal damage - potentially could result in a prison sentence, Mr Kelleher's concerns regarding the economic security and well being of his two-year-old son would appear to be slightly arse-about-face.

Viewing the economic and political system personified by Baroness Thatcher objectively, results in recognition that the country in general was a damn sight better off at the end of her tenure than it was in 1979, the political system she did not change one jot. The charge of endangering the political system of the UK would be easier to level at our current government, personified by President-in-waiting Tony Blair.

The toppling of statues in Eastern Europe was the result of popular change of political regime, the statues by and large were of Soviet leaders who "liberated" Czechs, Poles, Hungarians, East Germans saw as a reminder of Soviet occupation and tyranny. As such the two cases are not comparable.

From his closing speech at the original trial Mr. Kelleher:

"....implored the jury to acquit him, saying "you will have martyrs' crowns placed upon your heads and your names written in the history books as the people who took back power from the establishment"."

A plea of "guilty but insane" would probably have served him better.

Subject: RE: BS: Thatchers Revenge
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 23 Jan 03 - 04:47 AM

"...popular change of political regime" - that sounds like what was supposed to happen in 1997. Though, as in much of Eastern Europe maybe it wasn't quite the change people longed for.

And if there are any statues of Tony Blair anywhere, I'm all for toppling them.