From: "Richard Loweth", [EMAIL PROTECTED]
There is a very old saying that "if justice is to be
done justice must be seen to be done" In other words out
in public and in the open. One very important piece of
evidence in the trial of the farmer Martin was his
alleged boast that he wanted to "machine gun gypsies". It
called into question whether Martin felt himself genuinely
at risk or was his firing prompted by a desire to fulfil
that wish?
That is why anonymity is important. In order to establish
whether a homicide is lawful on the grounds of self
defence it is vital to establish the "mens rea" or state
of mind of the person who has done the killing. Was it
motivated by a genuine fear of immediate threat of
serious harm or by a wish to "machine gun" gypsies?
Or perhaps an officer boasting to a witness that he
was a better "gunman" than any "civilian FAC holder"
and that in any armed confrontation that he, the
police officer, would come off better? But how can
that witness then come forward if he does not know
if the officer who boasted to him of being
that better "gunman" is the officer in question or not?
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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