Skull Cracker Walkies

[cronus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27284337

Review after 'Skull Cracker' Michael Wheatley absconds

A review has been ordered after an armed robber dubbed "the Skull Cracker" went missing when he was temporarily allowed out of an open prison.

Michael Wheatley, 55, was given 13 life sentences at the Old Bailey in 2002 for a string of brutal raids on banks and building societies.

Kent Police said he failed to return to HMP Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey.

Prisons minister Jeremy Wright said there would be a full review.

(continued, easily recognized by the hammer...swinging over you?)

[JimC]

I though open prison schemes were for non-violent offenders...

[cronus]

I though open prison schemes were for non-violent offenders...

Only the least offensive are kept in the prisons these days over here, if you don't pay your TV Licence they'll give six months with a TV for company.

[cronus]

I though open prison schemes were for non-violent offenders...

Only the least offensive are kept in the prisons these days over here, if you don't pay your TV Licence they'll give six months with a TV for company.

[Seth]

I though open prison schemes were for non-violent offenders...

Only the least offensive are kept in the prisons these days over here, if you don't pay your TV Licence they'll give six months with a TV for company.

"TV license..." Careful, don't point that TV at anyone, it might go off...and we'd have to revoke your "license."

[mistermack]

He'd done 12 years, and I assume he'd behaved. That would be why he was in an open prison. He would have been due for release pretty shortly.

That the joke system we have for crime and punishment. 13 life sentences means in practice about thirteen years.

If they catch him now though, he's in big trouble. He'll probably have to do another month.

[Seth]

He'd done 12 years, and I assume he'd behaved. That would be why he was in an open prison. He would have been due for release pretty shortly.

That the joke system we have for crime and punishment. 13 life sentences means in practice about thirteen years.

If they catch him now though, he's in big trouble. He'll probably have to do another month.

And you can't figure out why innocent citizens need to carry guns... Sheesh.

[cronus]

He'd done 12 years, and I assume he'd behaved. That would be why he was in an open prison. He would have been due for release pretty shortly.

That the joke system we have for crime and punishment. 13 life sentences means in practice about thirteen years.

If they catch him now though, he's in big trouble. He'll probably have to do another month.

And you can't figure out why innocent citizens need to carry guns... Sheesh.

Gun would do no good with a crack to the head from behind.

[mistermack]

And you can't figure out why innocent citizens need to carry guns... Sheesh.

Not in this country they don't.
Nor do they NEED to in la la land.
Far more people get heart attacks. Do they all need to carry their own defibrillators?

Sheesh

[Hermit]

And you can't figure out why innocent citizens need to carry guns... Sheesh.

Michael Wheatley robbed banks and building societies, and that's where he bashed people's skulls in. I don't think you'd be all that welcome walking in with a gun even if you explained that you're only doing so to protect yourself.

[Seth]

He'd done 12 years, and I assume he'd behaved. That would be why he was in an open prison. He would have been due for release pretty shortly.

That the joke system we have for crime and punishment. 13 life sentences means in practice about thirteen years.

If they catch him now though, he's in big trouble. He'll probably have to do another month.

And you can't figure out why innocent citizens need to carry guns... Sheesh.

Gun would do no good with a crack to the head from behind.

Don't let people sneak up behind you with hammers...Derp!

[Seth]

And you can't figure out why innocent citizens need to carry guns... Sheesh.

Not in this country they don't.

Tell it to the people who got their skulls bashed.

Nor do they NEED to in la la land.

It's a Bill of Rights, not a Bill of Needs.

Far more people get heart attacks. Do they all need to carry their own defibrillators?

If they don't want to die of fibrillation, yes. Many people who have a history of fibrillation do indeed have their own AED (Automatic Electronic Defibrillator) "with" them. As it happens, I have one in my auto trauma kit. Costs about $2500 new. I got mine military surplus, brand new never used along with a backpack, trauma supplies, bag-mask ventilator, nasogastic obdurator airway, BP cuff and other goodies at a gun show for $100. My tax dollars at work! Just like my gun, it's there to save a life. Pity you don't give a fuck about other people's lives.

Someday an AED will be the size of an iPhone, or there will be an AED built into iPhones, and many fewer people will die as a result of them being ubiquitous in society. State law in Colorado requires entertainment venues like stadiums and concerts to have AED's dispersed about the venue where anyone can grab one to save a life, because like a criminal attack, the first seconds are the most important if the victim is to survive.

Bad anal-ogy, try again.

[Seth]

And you can't figure out why innocent citizens need to carry guns... Sheesh.

Michael Wheatley robbed banks and building societies, and that's where he bashed people's skulls in. I don't think you'd be all that welcome walking in with a gun even if you explained that you're only doing so to protect yourself.

Nobody would know I have a gun until 7/10ths of a second before I needed to use it to defend someone against a hammer attack, and it would disappear just as soon as the attacker was neutralized. That's why they call it a "concealed" weapon.

Be sure to ask the next victim's family if they would have preferred someone of good character and an altruistic nature armed with a gun would have been present to stop the next hammer attack. I'll bet you money they will say "yes, absolutely."

[Hermit]

And you can't figure out why innocent citizens need to carry guns... Sheesh.

Michael Wheatley robbed banks and building societies, and that's where he bashed people's skulls in. I don't think you'd be all that welcome walking in with a gun even if you explained that you're only doing so to protect yourself.

Nobody would know I have a gun

Most of Australia's banks and building societies have detectors that sound an alarm and cause bullet-proof glass panels to rise from their usual height to the ceiling if you enter their premises carrying one, concealed or not. That's why bank robberies have become just about non-existent lately. Beats crime more effectively than gun battles.

[Seth]

And you can't figure out why innocent citizens need to carry guns... Sheesh.

Michael Wheatley robbed banks and building societies, and that's where he bashed people's skulls in. I don't think you'd be all that welcome walking in with a gun even if you explained that you're only doing so to protect yourself.

Nobody would know I have a gun

Most of Australia's banks and building societies have detectors that sound an alarm and cause bullet-proof glass panels to rise from their usual height to the ceiling if you enter their premises carrying one, concealed or not. That's why bank robberies have become just about non-existent lately. Beats crime more effectively than gun battles.

I think that's a great idea...for the tellers. But what about the other customers? Can you say "hostage?"

But I agree, the only thing worse than having a gunfight with some crook is not having a gun to fight with when he's trying to shoot you. If it were factually possible to keep guns away from crooks with 100 percent certainty, or even if someone would develop a "phaser" that would instantly stun someone with 100 percent reliability (including dogs and bears) then I'd be happy to put my handgun in the safe and carry something less lethal.

But no such device exists, and the handgun substitutes are simply not reliable enough to bet one's life on.