‘Glasser’ was sick when shown what he’d done to victim’s face
Monday 17th November 2008, 2:29PM GMT.
THE victim of an unprovoked glassing in Les Folies d’Amour nightclub told police how blood had poured from his face ‘like a tap’.
His attacker, William Lavelle, who had been in the island for only about 10 hours, was very drunk and could remember little of the incident.
Lavelle said he was disgusted after realising what he had done and was physically sick when shown photos of his victim’s multiple facial injuries.
In the Royal Court, Lavelle, 24, was jailed for three-and-a-half years after admitting maliciously wounding Jonathon Sheppard with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Judge Russell Finch said such behaviour would not be tolerated in Guernsey.
Advocate Chris Green said his client had cooperated fully throughout and said the police and prosecution might have found it hard to make their case had he not done so.
Lavelle had shown great remorse. He had never been in trouble before and his partner had suffered a miscarriage while he been on remand, adding to his feelings of guilt.
On release, Lavelle will be supervised for 18 months should he decide to stay in Guernsey
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supervised “should he decide to stay on Guernsey”. What on earth is this. This man was on Guernsey for 10 hours and caused grevious harm to someone, and presume is in prison at Guernsey Tax Payers’ expense.
How can he be allowed to stay here under any circumstances. He should be deported immediately and forbidden to return here. I don’t know what the legal position is here, but I doubt there are many residents on this island who want someone like that living here.
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Does he really get to make that choice?
His first 10 hours were hardly a glowing testimony to his ability to integrate and become a valuable member of society. I don’t know the background but Guernsey seems quick enough to throw teachers, police, nurses and other essential workers onto the boat home after they have served their licence(it’s like a sentence but with time added for good behaviour ) so how come a lowlife doesn’t get the same treatment?
I would have thought that justifiable deportation is the first population control method to be exercised once things start to get a bit tough?
The first politician to mention human rights needs to go and spend some time with the victim!
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Do we really need this type of person polluting our streets. The relevant States authority needs to get a backbone and deport him as soon as practical. The fact that he gets to choose whether he gets to stay in Guernsey after his prison sentence – that is too short by far – is disgusting. Send him to back to where he came from and let him rot in prison at their expense.
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At the end of his stretch he should be marched along the front, straight on boat and dumped where ever he came from !
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He was sick when he saw what he had done, more like sick at the thought of how long he was going to spend in jail.
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I suspect the paper mis-reported, a lot of UK residents have the choice to serve their sentence nearby where they reside.
If he is living here on a licence, i.e. his partners, parents etc, or even in open market then what can you do.
All I can say is nice one Mr Finch – good to see you are putting them away for what really matters, however the sentence looks a bit light to me – if people are getting over 10 years for drugs importations then I think a bully like this should get the same.
Personal injury is a scar for life not just physically but mentally.
I hope the scumbag likes picking up bars of soap.
No excuse, and having ‘remorse’? What a load of nonsense – sometimes saying sorry just is not enough, i.e. ‘oh by the way, I’m really sorry I destroyed your life, but I mean, I was brought up badly, I was drunk, I was a bit dizzy’.
He chose to drink, he chose to use the glass, simple. He is an adult and desrves the full force of the law against him.
I know people who were beaten when they were being brought up, and who get drunk as as skunk, but a lot of these people tend to giggle, hug their mates or fall asleep.
There is no excuse for it.
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So he comes out, can’t find work due to his record for violent, unprovoked assault, within 10 hours of moving here (well who’s want to employ someone like that) and then what…sponges off the States or goes “career criminal” for the remainder of his time here?
And btw Richard makes a valid point…far too many crimes are “excused” because of circumstances, even the obligatory “too drunk to recall” etc…it’s about time the punishment fit the actual crime, not mitigated by the self inflicted circumstances leading up to it!
Deport him the minute he’s released, regardless of why, how he is here, he has forfeited that right by his criminal behaviour…next time it could be a fatality.
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This article throws up more questions than it answers. Some have been suggested in previous posts: was this person here on his own licence – if so he is not fulfilling the job as he is in prison. Does this mean another licence for someone? Does he get another licence when he comes out? Does the job he is going to be doing not require a police check?
Alcohol is not an excuse for violence. He deserved to be sent to prison and should be deported. If our laws don’t allow it then they should be changed. A lot of the recent violence and drug trafficking is reported as being committed by people who are not resident in Guernsey yet we look after them when they come out of prison – madness!
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Put him on the boat and ship the scum bag out, if you don’t Guernsey then you are sending the wrong signals out..I thought Guernsey stood by their laws…this now makes me wonder??????
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As a person who worked for the Police and Customs and was ‘deported’ at the end of the 5 year licence I find it quite comical that this person will be allowed to stay.
Merlin – your pont about drug trafficking etc is quite valid, most local people are honest, goodwilling and kind folk; people off-shore want to make money from illicit activities.
I really believe that if you cut someone you should receive a 10 year plus sentence; this recipient will be scarred physically forever (the rest of their lives) and mentally the same.
As an ex law enforcement officer I have been on the receiving end of knives, bottles etc, which is fine, that is what I was paid for, but I have also seen members of the public who suffered for no good reason from such attacks – the people who make such attacks should receive the FULL force of the law, not a 3 year sentence (which means he will be out in 2010 as they only serve 50%).
I hope the attacker gets his just deserts in prison.
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Glassing is the most cowardly act I can think of…… Somebody annoys you in a bar/club, you havent got the nerve to fairly fight the person, or more pertinently, you have got the patience/ disposition to say “I’ll let it drop, its not that big a deal”.
So you ram a glass in their face scarring them for life!!
Over what????
Did you spill my pint???
I have seen a glassing first hand in the UK over exactly that reason and it is a truly horrifying thing to one minute be out enjoying yourself, the next you are scarred for life.
I know that active measures are being put in place in some areas of the UK i.e plastic glasses, but I really think that the sentence for glassing should be 10 years minmum, make these cowards think twice.
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Darren T you wouldn’t have been “deported” – merely no longer permitted to live in local market accommodation. Being deported means being banished altogether and not being permitted to remain on the island at all.
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i thought it was against the law to serve somebody who is drunk? we need to curb this drinking culture and clamp down on serving drunks. plastic glasses would help, but they only mask the problem. maybe we should bring back the birch.
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