Student could be spared jail for stabbing date because it could harm her career

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Richard Hartley-Parkinson for Metro.co.uk


http://i.imgur.com/jml5Ys6.jpg

A student at Oxford University who stabbed her boyfriend in the leg looks as though she could be spared a prison sentence.

Lavinia Woodward, 24, who wants to be a heart surgeon, punched her victim before stabbing him with a bread knife.

She also threw a laptop, a glass, and a jam jar at him at Christ Church College, Oxford while drunk and high.

Judge Ian Pringle told her that normally such an offence would mean a custodial sentence.

However, he added that to do so would be unfair because it might affect her career.

He said: ‘It seems to me that if this was a one-off, a complete one-off, to prevent this extraordinary able young lady from not following her long-held desire to enter the profession she wishes to, would be a sentence which would be too severe.

‘What you did will never, I know, leave you but it was pretty awful, and normally it would attract a custodial sentence, whether it is immediate or suspended.’

http://i.imgur.com/QFhzfmH.jpg

The court was told her college will allow her to return to the college in October because she ‘is that bright’ with articles published in medical journals.

Woodward did not attend court as she was in Milan, Italy, with her mum, the court heard.

Prosecutor Cathy Olliver said Woodward met her ex on Tinder and at the time of the attack, September 30, her behaviour ‘deteriorated’.

Defending, James Sturman QC said his drug addict client’s dreams of becoming a surgeon were ‘almost impossible’ as her conviction would have to be disclosed.

But he claimed Christ Church will allow her to return to the college in October.

Woodward had a ‘very troubled life’ and had been abused by another ex, Mr Sturman said.

Woodward will be sentenced on September 25 and was handed a restraining order told to stay drug-free and not to re-offend.

[DemonGeminiX]

She's stabbing people and you're going to allow her to skate because she wants to be a heart surgeon? I'm sorry but fuck her. If anyone's prone to voluntarily hurting people in any way, they shouldn't be anywhere near the medical profession.

[Fodster]

:maniac:

[Goofy]

She's stabbing people and you're going to allow her to skate because she wants to be a heart surgeon? I'm sorry but fuck her. If anyone's prone to voluntarily hurting people in any way, they shouldn't be anywhere near the medical profession.

Plus, you know, she's apparently a drug addict :lol:

[RBP]

Double standard indeed.

[lost in melb.]

She looks a bit not guilty in the second pic, very non-guilty in the first

[Pony]

Maybe this will be the new standard. Go postal and kill a bunch of people? Get a free pass because it would impact your career!

[lost in melb.]

She's stabbing people and you're going to allow her to skate because she wants to be a heart surgeon? I'm sorry but fuck her. If anyone's prone to voluntarily hurting people in any way, they shouldn't be anywhere near the medical profession.

It's a one off (apparently). They should add psychiatric sessions to her drug-free court order imo, just to be sure

[RBP]

She's stabbing people and you're going to allow her to skate because she wants to be a heart surgeon? I'm sorry but fuck her. If anyone's prone to voluntarily hurting people in any way, they shouldn't be anywhere near the medical profession.

I'd but fuck her...

http://i.imgur.com/rTNXx2K.jpg

[Teh One Who Knocks]

FOX News


https://i.imgur.com/oz1Uhii.jpg

An aspiring Oxford University heart surgeon student -- whose career a judge said he didn't want to ruin -- received a 10-month suspended prison sentence Monday for stabbing her ex-boyfriend.

Lavinia Woodward, 24, previously pleaded guilty to attacking her partner during a drug and booze-filled binge at Christ Church College last December.

"It seems to me that if this was a one-off, a complete one-off, to prevent this extraordinarily able young lady from following her long-held desire to enter the [medical] profession she wishes to would be a sentence which would be too severe," Judge Ian Pringle told the aspiring heart surgeon during a court appearance in May.

Woodward was handed the 10-month sentence -- suspended for 18 months -- on Monday for the attack on Thomas Fairclough. Woodward hurled a laptop, a glass and a jar of jelly at him during an argument before stabbing him in the leg with a bread knife, The Sun reported.

"Principally, at the age of 24 you have no previous convictions of any nature whatsoever,” Pringle said, according to Sky News. “I find that you were genuinely remorseful following this event and, indeed, it was against your bail conditions, you contacted your partner to fully confess your guilt and your deep sorrow for what happened.

"Finally, and most significantly, you have demonstrated over the last nine months that you are determined to rid yourself of your alcohol and drug addiction and have undergone extensive treatment including counselling to address the many issues that you face."

Woodward, wearing a white blouse and a black trouser suit, wept as she heard the sentencing, SWNS reported.

Her lawyer, James Sturman, said in court that Woodward would not be returning to Oxford this year due to public interest in the case.

"She has a dilemma, the university remain supportive, they are here today,” Sturman said. "Whether or not, she goes back at a later date, that will be for the Proctor to decide."

Sturman said Woodward is considering studying for a doctorate degree abroad or looking for research opportunities at other universities.

The Sun captured photos of Woodward shopping and having her hair done in Milan during the summer as she stayed at her family’s $2 million villa near the Italian city.

Woodward met Fairclough through a dating app and started a relationship in October 2016, a prosecutor said.

"In the course of the incident two of his fingers also received cuts. Your partner managed to partly restrain you, albeit then you started to turn the knife on yourself and he had to further disarm you to prevent further self-harm,” Pringle said Monday.

The decision to offer a delayed sentence was blasted by Mark Brooks, chairman of the Mankind Initiative, an organization that supports male victims of domestic abuse.

“The judge’s comments are completely unacceptable and out of touch. This is a clear case of severe domestic abuse against a man and the focus and sympathy should be with him,” Brooks said in May, according to Sky News. “The judge seems to think that domestic abuse, when it is committed by a woman against a man, is not as serious as it rightly is when it is the other way round.”

[lost in melb.]

She looks mean in that pic

[Teh One Who Knocks]

She looks mean in that pic

She looks like someone who got away with attempted murder.

[RBP]

https://i.imgur.com/5n6CZ82.jpg

[PorkChopSandwiches]

#nips

[Muddy]

Imma need to see that beaver to fully exonerate her...

[Pony]

Ya'll are a bunch of victim blamers in here. It's not her fault because she was on drugs and drunk and incapable of making sound decisions. The guy should be in jail for making her angry.

[RBP]

Ya'll are a bunch of victim blamers in here. It's not her fault because she was on drugs and drunk and incapable of making sound decisions. The guy should be in jail for making her angry.

I'm surprised she didn't take that angle.

[Hal-9000]

That judge is setting a dangerous precedent...

Keep them grades up kids, study hard and one day you too can assault or kill someone and still get that good job!

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Anthony Blair - The Daily Star


https://i.imgur.com/HPyY1SG.jpg
TRIAL: Lavinia Woodward, 25, stabbed her boyfriend

Lavinia Woodward, 25, lost her Court of Appeal bid to challenge her suspended jail sentence for unlawful wounding.

The Oxford University student was appealing against a 10-month prison term suspended for 18 months after she attacked her then-partner following a night of drinking.

She was due to be sentenced earlier, but a judge gave her four months to prove herself and stay out of trouble.

Woodward admitted last year at Oxford Crown Court to stabbing her then-boyfriend with a bread knife after drinking at her university accommodation at Christ Church college.

The court heard how in December 2016 Woodward's partner, a Cambridge University student, came to visit her in Oxford.

He realised she had been drinking and when Woodward discovered he had contacted her mother, she became "extremely angry", attacking him with a bread knife before throwing things at him.

The attack left Woodward's boyfriend with cuts to his leg and fingers.

The court heard Woodward has undergone voluntary drug tests and has been clean for the past 18 months.

https://i.imgur.com/MniSwew.png

Her lawyers had argued the "exceptional" circumstances of her case — including mental health difficulties — meant she could have been given a conditional discharge or fine.

Jim Sturman QC defending said the suspended sentence had affected Woodward's ability to find work.

Woodward — who hoped to become a heart surgeon until the attack in December 2016 — still hopes to pursue a career in medical research, said Sturman.

A character reference from her former Oxford professor said she was the most talented undergraduate who had been in his laboratory over the past 25 years.

Rejecting her appeal, Judge Johannah Cutts said: "We accept she had powerful mitigation.

"This nonetheless remained a serious offence which, in our view, merited a custodial element to the sentence.

"It was by reason of the powerful mitigation that the judge was able to take an exceptional course and suspend the custodial term.

"It was a constructive and compassionate sentence."

[Muddy]

I see your nerps, girl..

[DemonGeminiX]

So she's still not going to jail...

[Muddy]

Not looking like that..

[RBP]

Wait. She got a suspended sentence and appealed it? I was assuming the state appealed the suspended sentence. jesus.

[deebakes]

:ffs:

[Hugh_Janus]

I think poking her would be worth the risk

[lost in melb.]

I think that sentence would have been appropriate. Doing some real time without destroying here career. However the suspended sentence thing is a joke. Why bother?

Also, her appeal against any sentence at all alarms me as it indicates lack of accountability and remorse. Unless she was to try and prevent the destruction of her medical career. More info needed why she was appealing...

[DemonGeminiX]

Her lawyers claimed that the suspended sentence affected her ability to find work. Apparently, her having a record of any kind in relation to her crime is preventing her from getting a job that she would find appealing. I wouldn't want to hire her either.

Personally, I think she belongs in jail. I don't care how attractive she is. Something's not right in her head.

I agree with the appeal signaling a lack of accountability and remorse. Another reason why she belongs in jail.