Will Justice Be Done?

[Mr Darn]

Sadly, in june last year a buisness man born in bedlington lost his fight for life after an unfortunate accident in a quayside nightspot... or was it an accident?

The man, who had built his buisness up from scratch, was out on a 'stag do' in the town as one of his mates was getting married. unfortunatly he was asked to leave a certain nightspot, and on his way out, tumbled down a flight of stairs, breaking his neck and putting him in a coma for three weeks. he never regained conciousness.

The police suspect foul play, and after interviewing a witness, arrested 3 door staff, 2 of which worked at the bar in question, and one from a bar next door. They pleaded not guilty to the charges of 2x manslaughter and 1x murder. they were bailed.

their trial starts on monday 20th march, 2006.

their has been a lot of rumours about what happened that night, but thats all they are, roumours, the truth will come out starting monday.

From what i hear, this murder investigation is cut and dry, a dead cert of conviction, but i know how the law works, so, i've decided to keep the people of bedlington posted on the course of the trial, and of the final verdict.

you will notice... no names have yet been mentioned, or places. this is because in my eyes everyone has the right to a fair trial, and the right to be inocent until proven guilty. naming names just wouldnt be right at this stage, however, some of you may be familier with the dearly departed, so his name i will mention now.

Steven Doyle, Aged 38. sucsessful buisnessman and father of 3.

If these men were responsible for this mans death, i hope the courts are fair, and sentence them accordingly, and if not guilty, i hope they sue the papers for naming them as murderers. The way papers just blurt out names even before a trial is unbeleavable, condeming most to a hellish life even when innocent.

Lets see if Justice is done, and Steven Doyles family get some closure over why this much loved man was taken from them.

Any comments made can be passed on to his family if you wish. Just say.

[Denzel]

Well I for one certainly hope the perpetrator is sent down for it; it's all deeply unpleasant and I gather off certain friends he was a decent bloke.

[Pencil_Neck]

Sympathy to the family & hopefully the outcome is just.

[Mr Darn]

i have been asked by the officer in charge not to talk about this case whilst it is in session. the case is due to last 3 weeks, starting monday. a full report will be posted to you all after the result is made public.

sorry i cant give you a blow by blow but it may affect the case.

May Justice be Done

[MarkJ]

I hear the three got off..... something to do with everyone in the nightclub having had alcohol and therefore are not reliable witnesses.... justice eh?

i also heared one of them made a statement to police saying he did push him down the stairs...

[Mr Darn]

yup, all 3 got off, juges decision was that the evedence presented did not reflect the origional charges, so their was no case to answer.

basically, 1 had nothing to do with it, 1 escorted steve from the bar to the stairs and handed custody over to the head doorman. this head doorman claims he released steve at the top of the stairs, steve started to walk out, then turned and attacked him. in defence he put out his hands, which knocked steven down the stairs. this action was the one that caused the fatal blow that put a 5 inch fracture in steves skull and broke his neck, and since it was in self defence, cannot be charged as manslaughter.

the doorman that had nothing to do with the ejection said in his statment he had said 'throw him down the stairs' in a statment to police, but he did not mean this litterally.

i believe steve did turn and confront the doorman after this comment. but you try it, have someone stand 3-4 steps down a flight of stairs when your at the top, and try and push him, in defence, down the stairs. tell me how many times you can push someone with enough force to send them head first, and backwards, down those stairs without falling down them yourself.

my point is this, you push someone away, its self defence.

you place your foot around the chest area and push hard you'll find this has the effect of sending that man down the stairs, backwards, and head first, and in no way that i know of can that be anything but manslaughter, if not murder.

but then again, i am bias.

it was a terrible accident what happened that night, one that has shaped the lifes of stevens family for ever.

I just hope a lesson has been learned that will make things safer.

guys, if a doorman asks you to leave the bar, just move on, theirs plenty more places to drink. dont risk loosing your life over a spilled pint, like steven did.

[Denzel]

Well said Mr Darn, something definitely a bit fishy about the acquittal.