Ex-soldier Paul Clarke, 27, was found guilty by a jury after 20 minutes of deliberation on charges that he possessed a firearm. Mr Clarke was quoted as saying, "I didn't think for one moment I would be arrested."
Mr Clarke saw a black bin liner from the balcony of his home. He took it inside and found a sawed-off shotgun with two rounds of ammo. Not knowing what to do with the stuff he took it to the local police station after calling the superintendent.
Mr Clarke was immediately arrested and locked in a cell. He awaits sentencing on December the 11th. His judge at Guildford Crown Court said, "The intention of anybody possessing a firearm is irrelevant."
What a crock of shit! What a complete mess! This is such a disgusting and shameful thing to do to this man who was only doing his duty and what the police asked for citizens to do in the first place!
They need to take that leaflet down if they are going to charge anyone for even touching a weapon. "He also showed jurors a leaflet printed by Surrey Police explaining to citizens what they can do at a police station, which included "reporting found firearms".
No wonder people don´t want to do the right thing or get involved anymore. They don´t want to be jailed for it. A minimum of 5 years and the jury wasn´t allowed to take the reason why he had it into consideration? Unacceptable and I hope that he appeals and get´s out and then sue the damn place.
Many people hate the US, but at least our officers and jurors get to look at all of the information surrounding something before charging someone. Hell they have those buyback programs all the time, you bring in a gun and give it to the officers and they don´t ask where it came from, then you get whatever it is in return.
He need´s to appeal this and the citizens over there need to hound whoever you can to get this crazy charge and conviction tossed out. The prosecutor needs to lose his job and the judge should be sanctioned for his inability to do the correct thing and that is tell the prosecution and the police they are the ones at fault for asking citizens to do something that is illegal.
The law in Britain is aimed at persecuting innocent people who do nothing wrong. This poor man seems to be no exception.
Yesterday I commented on a story of a British teen freed into society immediately after raping a child (only to rape another), today I´m commenting on a story about a British man facing 5 years inside for doing the right thing. It speaks for itself doesn´t it?
Labour out at the next election, and we need to all pray for change because this sort of thing cannot be allowed to continue.
I actually thought about the articles you were doing on the Yobs when I read this. Little shits get away with torturing thier neighbors to the point a woman kills herself and her daughter and not a thing is done. This guy reads a leaflet about reporting found firearms and the douches arrest him there on the spot. Sick-en-ing!
Quizzing officer Garnett, who arrested Mr Clarke, he asked: "Are you aware of any notice issued by “Surrey Police,” or any publicity given to, telling citizens that if they find a firearm the only thing they should do is not touch it, report it by telephone, and not take it into a police station?" Prosecuting, Brian Stalk, explained to the jury that possession of a firearm was a "strict liability" charge – therefore Mr Clarke´s allegedly honest intent was irrelevant. Just by having the gun in his possession he was guilty of the charge, and has no defence in law against it, he added. Maybe he should have left it there so it could be picked up to murder someone, then our law would be content in doing what it always does so very well, leaving people on danger. I swear to god the people that make these laws are all Hitler’s children. Firstly should there actually be a law in this country, this would be not only two dismissals but two prosecutions as well, one for false arrest and another for wasting courts time. And see what this pompus old fart of a judge wraps it up with. Judge Christopher Critchlow said: "This is an unusual case, but in law there is no dispute that Mr Clarke has no defence to this charge. "The intention of anybody possessing a firearm is irrelevant." And this is the Judge for Guildford Crown Court? He is seriously demented all three of them need some time out on the funny farm. Permanently!
It has been known here in the past for security guards, and other members of the public to disarm robbers and people threatening the public. So they have done something wrong here that´s for sure.
His judge at Guildford Crown Court said, "The intention of anybody possessing a firearm is irrelevant."
so when any police officer touches the weapon they are commiting a crime by the words of the judge. once a police officer touches the gun, they are in possesion of the weapon. the very word used by the judge "anybody" does not exempt police officers..
This is what happens when your country becomes a nation of the government, by the government and for the government. Rise up sheeple and take back your country. Your turn in the Bastille is coming.
This is what happens when gun bans are taken to the extreme. Britain used to have a long history of firearms ownership until gun control was implemented to the overkill level it is today.
This is a good reason why I´ll never turn in a firearm of any kind, I don´t care if they ban all weapons...I´ll bury a stockpile in the backyard if I have to. I know this is just in Britain, but its not out of the realm of possibility here in the states.
actus reus, the guilty act and the mens rea, the guilty mind. This is how cops undercover can break the law and get away with it. This man had no mens rea, so he shouldn´t be prosecuted. But no good deed goes unpunished.
´The law in Britain is aimed at persecuting innocent people who do nothing wrong. This poor man seems to be no exception.´
This isn´t quite true. What the law in Britain is based around is prosecuting (not persecuting, but that´s just me being picky) those people who are least equipped and prepared to defend themselves.
The system essentially works by punishing people who are too nonplussed to argue back.
Common sense is simply just not a factor in UK law any more. It´s about the letter and not the spirit.
We live in a society where people are punished or ridiculed for trying to do good things and the evil and cruel are glorified or made famous. People are punished for defending themselves where the criminal are let off with the lightest punishments as befitting their crimes.
I would say he definitely did the wrong thing here. What he should have done was take the gun and stash it away somewhere, safe for when the time comes to rebel against there government because with them doing crap like that to there people it will happen sooner or later.
so basically he should of left it for a 10 year old to find and accidentally shoot his mate because he thought it was a toy. bloody got things backwards they have
As an avid reader of shortnews for many years i never felt the need to submit a comment on a story b4, but this has absolutely outraged me, what an absolute joke this country really is, and what makes it worse is that the jury have found him guity
"The intention of anybody possessing a firearm is irrelevant." Round up every single Police officer, Soldier, and Chuck Nor- Actually... We´ll stay away from him...
Seeing this guys injustice makes me wish that Iran & North Korea would launch their "vast inventories of nuclear weapons" while some middle eastern extremists detonate missing Russian suitcase nukes and end all civilization. Does the human race really deserve a reprieve ?
The whole place went south after that damn Revolutionary War thing. >_< But don´t fret your about to get some company down there, the US is flushing itself down the same toilet.
