Honesty and remorse save church desecrator from jail
Monday 8th March 2010, 2:29PM GMT.
Vale rector the Rev. Kevin Northover alongside the pagan pentagram drawn in the church in January 2006. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0277482)
A MAN who caused thousands of pounds-worth of damage at the Vale Church four years ago has escaped a prison sentence – because of his honesty.
Consumed with guilt, Karl Miller, handed himself in to police.
In the Magistrate’s Court, Miller, 22, admitted that he, together with unnamed others, caused almost £7,000-worth of damage to the church in January 2006.
Miller was finally caught when DNA taken from beer cans and cigarettes ends left at the scene matched a sample he gave when he was arrested in connection with something else last year.
Advocate David Domaille said that Miller, of room 7, 15, George Street, St Peter Port, had saved for many months to pay compensation and apologised sincerely to the court and the church.
Judge Philip Robey noted that the defendant had made full admissions in a case that would otherwise have been very difficult to prove.
He said that but for Miller’s honesty and remorse he would have jailed him for nine months. But as a direct alternative he imposed 150 hours’ community service order and ordered the defendant to pay £2,000 compensation – the most the Magistrate’s Court can award.
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I wonder how many times in your lifetime that you might be strolling in the dead of night through the Vale Church cemetery when you needed to take shelter from the rain inside the Church only to find two other men already sheltering.How often would you then,in the company of those two strangers,proceed to cause £7,000 worth of damage to the Church.
Isn’t life strange
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What a farce: another slap on the wrist;
even a drowning man will cling to a straw.
But above all this_ he has damaged the Lord’s house: let us not forget that part: and as he did it wilfully, apart from his pleas. he did damage. We will let the Lord meet out just judgement.
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He came forward and admitted his part in the crime, this was obviously out of extreme guilt. Therefore he has learnt something from this, and hopefully will be on the ‘straight and narrow’ from now on.
I think community service for some vandalism seems fair in this case.
eric, please! It’s 2010, and aren’t you guys supposed to be into forgiveness and all?
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Dean:
Honour means more:
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Thanks Dean – you beat me to it! Jesus taught Christians that if someone sins against us, we should forgive them as God has forgiven us – he also warned us against unforgiveness, which only harms us and not the offender anyway. Rev Northover is a good guy and I’m sure he and the members of the Vale Church will apply that teaching.
We also shouldn’t forget the judge’s point that without his admission, this case would have been very difficult to prove. 150 hours community service and a £2,000 compensation order seems an appropriate punishment. Perhaps he could do some of the work at the Vale Church? Remorse has been shown as justice has been served, let him serve his sentence, learn from this and move in.
As for the “Lord’s House” although I totally oppose vandalism, let’s not get too hung up on buildings, after all:
“….the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,
‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?’” [Acts 7:48-50]
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Dean if he did this to you’re house you would not forgive
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John
Well actually I have been the victim of some pretty expensive vandalism in the last year. I tried to not get angry etc as I assume this is what the vandal would have liked. And yes I forgive them, not because I am Christian, but because I don’t want to hate for the rest for my life.
I also accept that everyone makes mistakes. Let him without sin cast the first stone and all that…
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Well said Dean: you don’t have to be a Christian to understand that unforgiveness doesn’t hurt them – it hurts you.
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Dean & others;
It is so easy to quote from the scriptures, helps not one iota:
I say that in the belief that if a man willingly destroys other peoples properties, then they should be aware that, if caught due punishment will follow.
Now some quote the scriptures as I mentioned.
Yet do you also remember how the boy Jesus was angry because His Father’s house was being used for money lending etc,?
as for throwing the first stone, so easy to take a quotation out of context and use it as a weapon; well for me it doesn’t work.
It was wanton destruction, and as such should have the law as published for wrongdoers.
Otherwise what is the point in making laws. material things can bend, but not justice.
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Eric – I don’t quite follow your point on this one.
You said “I say that in the belief that if a man willingly destroys other peoples properties, then they should be aware that, if caught due punishment will follow.”
This chap was caught and due punishment did follow – 150 hours community service and a £2,000 fine; not to mention a criminal record that will impact his career options and limit his travel (I believe it’s hard to get into the USA now with any kind of criminal record). Then there is the extra-judicial punishment of public exposure within a small community – he’ll forever be known over here as “the guy that vandalised the church.”
Of course you might disagree with the severity of punishment, but you can’t deny that he has been punished by the law.
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people matter, people bleed and break if you carry out violence against them – at home, at school, in peace or in war. vale church, little chapel, your windscreen, my tyres were inconvenient not more than that. paint it big on every wall – STOP THE WAR.
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Fair enough Paul;
Just think it through:
If he has been punished, then what was the idea of saying he escaped a prison sentence?
I know Prison isn’t the answer; and probably what he did get was more severe than prison:
However my point was if the law says imprisonment the so be it,
Why the tale of escaping prison?
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My take on this is at leat he admitted to it leading to a reduciotn in court costs and case lenghth etc…. however…
He has still been found guilty of £7,000 worth of damage, so the punishment should fit the crime, £7,000 compensation and then whatever other means the judge see’s fit.
If £2,000 is the maximum the court can sentence, then it should have been passed to a higher court.
If someone got caught doing £10,000 worth of damage to my house, I would want £10,000 to fix it, not to have to claim on my insurance.
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so did he hand himself in? the article suggests that he was ‘finally caught’ due to the DNA evidence. which would suggest that he either didnt hand himself in, or only did so knowing that his sentence would be reduced…
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rob – the DNA evidence would have linked him to the area, but it would have been insufficient to press a conviction.
Just because he was around that area didn’t mean he was necessarily involved. Evidence that he was involved in the act of vandalism would have been required.
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Disgraceful, the punishment no way fits the crime. £7,000 damage, in my head equals £7,000 compensation. So effectively the church are out of pocket by £5,000.
Another example of soft punishments. We see numerous reports of vandalism and anti social behaviour. If the courts were to hit harder and punish the criminals more, people would recognise this and be less likely to commit crimes. Criminals should be made public examples of to deter others from commiting the crimes.
They need a no nonsense approach similar to that of the drink driving laws, you get caught you get punished. Because, going off the current logic, if i was drink driving and got pulled over by the police and admit to being drunk at the wheel do I get a lesser punishment? I think not.
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Do you mean I have to either catch, or photograph Father Christmas, to convince my children that he exists?
Oh boy; must get the missus to prove I am who I am.
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I too think its disgusting that the church will be out of pocket by £5,000 and I am also believe if the birch was still being used then many of these crimes would not happen.
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bring back hanging…
with the amount of money they collect over here, i am sure they can cope.
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GOD PROTECT ME FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS.
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