No Humans Involved...

Friends of a popular teenager killed in a street brawl have said the sentence given to his killer is "not enough".

A court heard there was a history of "bad blood" between two men which led to a tragedy when one of them killed the other after repeatedly hitting him around the head as he lay unconscious during a violent street fight.

Another story of youth and lax justice?

Richard Winn knocked 18-year-old Daniel Cooper to the ground with two powerful punches and continued hitting him while his defenceless victim was slumped unconscious on the ground. Daniel died four days later from serious head injuries, the court was told.

Winn, 20, of Grimsby, was locked up for five years after admitting manslaughter on July 15 last year. Today, friends of Daniel, who lived in Rutland Street, Grimsby, said the sentence was too lenient.

Who could disagree?

Councillor Jon-Paul Howarth, a volunteer at The Shalom youth club, where Daniel spent time, said: "Five years for taking someone's life is nothing.

"It is just my personal view but I expect he will be out on good behaviour after just two-and-a-half years, which is no where near enough. If someone takes someone else's life they should expect a long time locked up. His mum has lost her son and she got a lifetime punishment because she is not going to see him growing up."

Ah, but...dry those eyes!

A teenage thug who chased a neighbour out of his own house before returning to steal from the property has been jailed for a year. Grimsby Crown Court heard Daniel Cooper, 18, of Rutland Street, along with an accomplice – who cannot be named for legal reasons – got into the house and hit the startled occupant with such force, he left him with a suspected fractured nose.

That puts a rather different complexion on things, doesn't it?

Diana Maudsley, prosecuting, told the court Cooper had also viciously knocked his victim to the ground and kicked him in the chest during the break in on May 25.

*shrugs* If you live by the sword...

Judge Peter Clark said that due to the serious nature of the offences he was left with no choice but to hand down a custodial sentence. Cooper was sentenced to 12 months inside a young offenders institution. His accomplice was sentenced to eight months.

Perhaps if it had been longer..?