Fuck off Greenies and let the fuckwits suffer in jail!
Have fun in the slammer redneck trash, just watch out for the soap on the floor!
Riot accused petrified in prison: court
A man charged over the Cronulla race riot was "petrified" of deadly reprisals in prison, a Sydney court has been told.
Danny Glen Shanahan, 20, was one of three men refused bail in Sutherland Local Court on Monday, charged with riot and affray.
Shanahan, Daniel Paul Kelly, 20, and 19-year-old Samuel Murray were allegedly part of a mob targeting people of Middle Eastern appearance in the violent incidents at Cronulla beach on December 11 last year.
Prosecutor Paul Upsall tendered media photographs of the riot showing Shanahan striking alleged victim Safi Merhi, who was "cowering" with his arms over his head in an effort to protect himself.
But defence lawyer Lionel Rattenbury argued that his client, an apprentice carpenter from Picton, should be granted bail.
Shanahan was in protective custody while on remand and feared violence from Middle Eastern inmates, he said.
Another prisoner, with no involvement in the riot, had been bashed because he was from Cronulla, Mr Rattenbury told the court, and Shanahan was "petrified of being in jail ... living in fear that he may be killed".
Shanahan acknowledged that "this is a cowardly act and deserves punishment", he said.
"But at the end of the day it is ... a punch to the back of the head. Sure, it was in the middle of a riot ... (but) that does not call for a period in prison necessarily," Mr Rattenbury said.
He added that Shanahan had learned his lesson and "wants to warn other people not to get involved in these mass rallies".
Kelly also applied for bail, his barrister Linda McSpedden telling the court he was "quite frankly terrified" in jail.
She said it was "an isolated event, a product of the tensions on the particular day" in which alcohol played a part, and Kelly did not appear to be "the prime mover in the events".
But Magistrate Ross Clugston refused both men bail, saying photographs showed them at "the very forefront of those persons who allegedly assaulted a male of Middle Eastern appearance".
"It is necessary to refuse bail for the protection of the community," he said.
He remanded Kelly, an apprentice plumber from Engadine, and Shanahan in custody, to face the same court on January 27 and 31 respectively.
Kelly cried when he was refused bail.
Murray, of Barden Ridge, did not seek bail on Monday and will return to court on January 23.
He faces two counts each of riot and affray, accused of using unlawful violence against Mr Merhi and the occupants of a car during the December 11 melee.
Greens MP Lee Rhiannon on Monday condemned legislative changes removing the presumption in favour of bail for those charged with riot and affray.
She said the changes, rushed through by the NSW parliament in the wake of the riot, were "more of a PR stunt than a genuine attempt to tackle the root causes of racism and violence".
"The government should be using the justice system to foster cooperation and understanding between different communities," Ms Rhiannon said.
Whose tough now?
-
- Coach
- Posts: 1334
- Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 11:40 pm
- Team:
- Location: Sydney - Home of the AFL
- Has thanked: 0
- Been liked: 0
-
- Coach
- Posts: 1334
- Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 11:40 pm
- Team:
- Location: Sydney - Home of the AFL
- Has thanked: 0
- Been liked: 0
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest