12-06-24, 10:15 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-06-24, 10:50 AM by Puffy Fish.)
Being that this forum is composed mostly of conservative readers, the below story will be very upsetting.
American conservatives - well, maybe I should say conservative Libertarians - may be shocked at the situation in the UK, if this story is to be taken as normal.
Many on the Left will not care, and in fact will even fully approve of the harsh sentence the judge imposed (I know because I posted this story in another political forum with many Left-leaning European members).
Young man in UK sentenced to 8.5 years for making crude gun, being "danger to society"
What that young man did should be seen as normal (or at least within the realm of acceptable behavior, even if potentially concerning/worrying). The judge should be removed from his position, or at least be subject to disciplinary action. The sentence was very excessive, in my opinion. The most he should have been sentenced to is 18 months, maybe less.
This took place in the U.K. (England) which can be quite strict and harsh when it comes to weapons.
It seems this young man's only "real" crime (from my perspective) was making a homemade single-shot gun. But there were several other, what some would consider "worrying" and "aggravating" factors.
He built a crude gun out of an aluminum tube in his garden shed.
Police found an encrypted USB drive with digital information about how to build a shotgun and plastic explosives. (The digital publication also contained a guide about how to carry out arson, which was probably just part of the regular "Anarchist Cookbook" publication, popular with many teen males)
Because of this he was convicted the criminal charges of "possession of articles useful for terrorism" and "disseminating terrorist material".
Those laws were probably not clearly meant or intended to be used this way, but the courts have applied that interpretation of those vague laws.
(see related thread: )
On one occasion he accidentally caused a fireball in his family's kitchen while making gunpowder, evidenced by comments he made on the internet.
Police say the young man was keeping bags of chemicals in a fridge in his bedroom that could be used to make explosives.
He made stupid comments online such as "People will get sick of Black Lives Matter and that is when violence will flare. I am going to make and sell weapons."
The encrypted files were found in electronic folders that were named "Boogaloo", which the prosecution argued was significant because the word refers to "race war" in far-right circles.
He downloaded a video of the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand (where a white perpetrator murdered a large number of Muslims). He had commented "Shame it doesn't have the music."
When arrested in June 2022 at his grandfather's home, the 20-year-old college student told police: "I'm not a terrorist, OK? I have an interest in chemicals and military memorabilia, that's all."
The 20-year-old young man has been ordered to be detained in a young offender institution for eight and a half years.
In addition to that, he was ordered to serve a 12-month "extended licence period" (this is like parole after release from prison, where he will be subject to supervision and restrictions). (The law allows such an "extended licence period" to be added on if the offender is guilty of a "terrorism offence" or if the court believes they are "a significant risk to the public of committing further specified offences")
When passing the sentence, Judge Melbourne Inman the defendant: "The jury heard you were a member of extreme rightwing groups holding extreme racist ideas."
"It's an aggravating factor that you were in contact with a number of extremists and the material was a horrific recording of multiple murders."
Was he punished for his views and political beliefs? That could be wrong and very unfair if it is so.
It seems the U.K. views individual rights very differently than in the U.S.
While it could be very concerning, in the U.S. an individual would be seen as having the right to say what they want, associate and communicate with who they want, and keep a video of a famous violent murder crime.
However, in this case it appears that the judge held all that against him and drastically increased his punishment for it.
The young man's name is Vaughn Dolphin, from Walsall in the West Midlands. He was sentenced in Birmingham crown court.
In my view it's not so clear that he actually committed any real crime, other than what might be considered a gun violation, having a gun without first receiving approval for it.
The other criminal charges appear to be a questionable stretch of the interpretation of the law.
In the U.K. it appears it is widespread to view those who have weapons as a "dangerous threat".
source:
Far-right extremist Vaughn Dolphin is to be sent young offender institution, The Guardian, Daniel Boffey, May 11, 2023
It's also very likely the judge was biased against the defendant, because of their political beliefs, being that the judge was "Muslim ethnicity" and on the Left, and evidence that the defendant had discussed content that showed animosity to Muslim migrants was brought up in court. So this may have been a factor.
American conservatives - well, maybe I should say conservative Libertarians - may be shocked at the situation in the UK, if this story is to be taken as normal.
Many on the Left will not care, and in fact will even fully approve of the harsh sentence the judge imposed (I know because I posted this story in another political forum with many Left-leaning European members).
Young man in UK sentenced to 8.5 years for making crude gun, being "danger to society"
What that young man did should be seen as normal (or at least within the realm of acceptable behavior, even if potentially concerning/worrying). The judge should be removed from his position, or at least be subject to disciplinary action. The sentence was very excessive, in my opinion. The most he should have been sentenced to is 18 months, maybe less.
This took place in the U.K. (England) which can be quite strict and harsh when it comes to weapons.
It seems this young man's only "real" crime (from my perspective) was making a homemade single-shot gun. But there were several other, what some would consider "worrying" and "aggravating" factors.
He built a crude gun out of an aluminum tube in his garden shed.
Police found an encrypted USB drive with digital information about how to build a shotgun and plastic explosives. (The digital publication also contained a guide about how to carry out arson, which was probably just part of the regular "Anarchist Cookbook" publication, popular with many teen males)
Because of this he was convicted the criminal charges of "possession of articles useful for terrorism" and "disseminating terrorist material".
Those laws were probably not clearly meant or intended to be used this way, but the courts have applied that interpretation of those vague laws.
(see related thread: )
On one occasion he accidentally caused a fireball in his family's kitchen while making gunpowder, evidenced by comments he made on the internet.
Police say the young man was keeping bags of chemicals in a fridge in his bedroom that could be used to make explosives.
He made stupid comments online such as "People will get sick of Black Lives Matter and that is when violence will flare. I am going to make and sell weapons."
The encrypted files were found in electronic folders that were named "Boogaloo", which the prosecution argued was significant because the word refers to "race war" in far-right circles.
He downloaded a video of the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand (where a white perpetrator murdered a large number of Muslims). He had commented "Shame it doesn't have the music."
When arrested in June 2022 at his grandfather's home, the 20-year-old college student told police: "I'm not a terrorist, OK? I have an interest in chemicals and military memorabilia, that's all."
The 20-year-old young man has been ordered to be detained in a young offender institution for eight and a half years.
In addition to that, he was ordered to serve a 12-month "extended licence period" (this is like parole after release from prison, where he will be subject to supervision and restrictions). (The law allows such an "extended licence period" to be added on if the offender is guilty of a "terrorism offence" or if the court believes they are "a significant risk to the public of committing further specified offences")
When passing the sentence, Judge Melbourne Inman the defendant: "The jury heard you were a member of extreme rightwing groups holding extreme racist ideas."
"It's an aggravating factor that you were in contact with a number of extremists and the material was a horrific recording of multiple murders."
Was he punished for his views and political beliefs? That could be wrong and very unfair if it is so.
It seems the U.K. views individual rights very differently than in the U.S.
While it could be very concerning, in the U.S. an individual would be seen as having the right to say what they want, associate and communicate with who they want, and keep a video of a famous violent murder crime.
However, in this case it appears that the judge held all that against him and drastically increased his punishment for it.
The young man's name is Vaughn Dolphin, from Walsall in the West Midlands. He was sentenced in Birmingham crown court.
In my view it's not so clear that he actually committed any real crime, other than what might be considered a gun violation, having a gun without first receiving approval for it.
The other criminal charges appear to be a questionable stretch of the interpretation of the law.
In the U.K. it appears it is widespread to view those who have weapons as a "dangerous threat".
source:
Far-right extremist Vaughn Dolphin is to be sent young offender institution, The Guardian, Daniel Boffey, May 11, 2023
It's also very likely the judge was biased against the defendant, because of their political beliefs, being that the judge was "Muslim ethnicity" and on the Left, and evidence that the defendant had discussed content that showed animosity to Muslim migrants was brought up in court. So this may have been a factor.
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