The Joanna Yeates murder case is intriguing from a criminal justice viewpoint. Some murders are so low profile nobody outside the local nick knows they ever happened. Some are the exact opposite. This case is the latter. It has all the ingredients to make the press excited. What they tend to forget is that people are involved, both victim's family and accused's family. In this case, others are drawn into the case by just the mere fact they lived nearby or just happened to be close by at the time.
I see that Tabak (whose name is Tobacco in Dutch) has
Paul Cook as his barrister. He appears to be a suitable choice. The prosecutor will be
Ann Reddropp, head of the Complex Case unit at the CPS South west group. She once came a cropper up against a judge who criticised the CPS for bringing a case of racial aggravation.
A man
was up in court for saying "F*** off you Paki, I want an English doctor, not a f***ing Paki." Judge Darlow remarked: "This was a single sentence to a man who should not have taken it so seriously. He is a man of some considerable standing in society and I cannot see that it caused him any distress or hurt. It should not have caused a problem in this case. To charge rather than let it go by with a caution strikes me as rather odd. We let people hit each other and break into people's homes and they are not charged." Ann Reddrop, prosecuting, said: "When there is a burglary and it is in the public interest there will be a prosecution. This was a police surgeon and he is entitled to the same protection as anyone else."
The judge then stated: "So next time call him a fat bastard and don't say anything about his colour."
There's something about the English legal system that never changes. I don't know about fat bastards but I get the impression it's sometimes about fat ladies waiting to sing. Even when they do, it's not always over. That's why I find the case of Vincent Tabak intriguing. Something is stopping the fat lady singing in my mind.
