15 years max sentence for convicted rapist who then battered a woman to death
Do we really live in a society which today can only impose a maximum sentence of 15 years on a convicted rapist who just four months after being released from prison battered and probably raped a 55 year old woman? Apparently we do.
This is from the Irish Times.
The man convicted of murdering County Tyrone woman Attracta Harron should receive the toughest possible sentence, a court has been told.
Trevor Hamilton, 23, will be sentenced on Friday for killing the retired librarian in 2003.
A prosecutor said Hamilton, of Concess Road, Sion Mills, subjected her to extreme violence and showed no remorse.
The defence said Hamilton's age should be taken into account when sentencing.
The maximum sentence is 15 years.
Mrs Harron, 55, from Strabane, vanished while walking home from Mass in December 2003.
The body of the mother of five was found four months later in a makeshift grave dug into the side of a riverbank bordering Mr Hamilton's home. She had been battered to death.
Hamilton was found guilty of murdering the pensioner less than four months after completing a rape sentence.
Trevor Hamilton was convicted in April.
Dungannon Crown Court heard from the prosecution that Hamilton went out in a "pre-meditated" way, looking for a victim.
The prosecution said he picked Mrs Harron because she was walking on her own, and added Hamilton "deceived and enticed" the devout Catholic into the car where she was "at his mercy".
She was subjected to "extreme violence and terror" which resulted in her death, the court heard. She was killed with an axe or a hatchet.
Her body was so badly decomposed it was impossible to establish if she had been sexually assaulted, but the prosecution said considering his previous convictions which included rape, no other conclusion could be reached.
Hamilton who appeared in court on Monday flanked by two officers expressed no emotion.
Mrs Harron's husband and other family members were also in court.
Defence lawyers will also be given the chance to put forward statements or any mitigating circumstances before sentencing on Friday.
This is from the Irish Times.
The man convicted of murdering County Tyrone woman Attracta Harron should receive the toughest possible sentence, a court has been told.
Trevor Hamilton, 23, will be sentenced on Friday for killing the retired librarian in 2003.
A prosecutor said Hamilton, of Concess Road, Sion Mills, subjected her to extreme violence and showed no remorse.
The defence said Hamilton's age should be taken into account when sentencing.
The maximum sentence is 15 years.
Mrs Harron, 55, from Strabane, vanished while walking home from Mass in December 2003.
The body of the mother of five was found four months later in a makeshift grave dug into the side of a riverbank bordering Mr Hamilton's home. She had been battered to death.
Hamilton was found guilty of murdering the pensioner less than four months after completing a rape sentence.
Trevor Hamilton was convicted in April.
Dungannon Crown Court heard from the prosecution that Hamilton went out in a "pre-meditated" way, looking for a victim.
The prosecution said he picked Mrs Harron because she was walking on her own, and added Hamilton "deceived and enticed" the devout Catholic into the car where she was "at his mercy".
She was subjected to "extreme violence and terror" which resulted in her death, the court heard. She was killed with an axe or a hatchet.
Her body was so badly decomposed it was impossible to establish if she had been sexually assaulted, but the prosecution said considering his previous convictions which included rape, no other conclusion could be reached.
Hamilton who appeared in court on Monday flanked by two officers expressed no emotion.
Mrs Harron's husband and other family members were also in court.
Defence lawyers will also be given the chance to put forward statements or any mitigating circumstances before sentencing on Friday.
posted by davem at 1:38 PM
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