British Justice is an Oxymoron (V): The Case of Daniel Lynch

I wrote yesterday about the ridiculously short sentences which are given to violent criminals in Britain, and how often the media will be complicit in pretending that they are more substantial than they are in reality.

This usually happens by combining the very short sentences of a violent gang, so two years in prison each for a violent gang of robbers becomes 'jailed for a total of 16 years'; however the term 'life imprisonment' is increasingly being wretchedly abused by both the media and the judicial system.

This was summed up quite aptly at the recent trial of Daniel Lynch and Stefan Sylvestre.

Lynch, 33, pictured above, became obsessed with an aspiring model and television presenter of 25 whom he met on Facebook.

They had a two week relationship, but she began to tire of his mood swings and violent temper.

Sensing the relationship was beyond repair, Lynch lured her to the Ramada Hotel in Bayswater in March last year.

Dosed up with steroids, he brutally attacked her, smashing her head repeatedly against a door and fire exit sign. As blood poured from her head and she begged to go to hospital, he beat her before forcing her on to the bed and raping her.

After the ordeal she escaped, and spent two days holed up in her flat as Lynch bombarded her with phone calls and text messages, all of them threatening.

Finally, he persuaded her to leave and meet him in a public place. However, as she walked down Golders Green Road, Sylvestre, acting on the instructions of Lynch, ambushed her and threw a full container of sulphuric acid in her face.

As a result of the attack, her life and career ambitions were ruined. She is partially blind in one eye and is still fed through a tube in her stomach due to the damage her throat sustained. In the past year she has had more than thirty operations, and faces another two years of surgery.

Summing up, the judge, Nicholas Browne QC, said:

'(The victim) had a face of pure beauty. You, Danny Lynch and Stefan Sylvestre, represent the face of pure evil. The facts of this case are chilling and shocking.
'You planned and then executed an act of pure, calculated and deliberate evil.
'You decided to wreck the victim's life by thrusting a full container of sulphuric acid straight into her face from point- blank range.'

So what were the sentences? The Mail, being coy no doubt, simply insists they both received life sentences.

Astoundingly the truth in this case comes to us via the Guardian; Lynch will serve at least 16 years, and Sylvestre, who randomly threw acid in a woman's face because a friend asked him, will serve a minimum of six years.

As usual, the victim has received a life sentence. You can call this many things, but it is certainly not justice.