Here’s the transcript of Danny Nightingale’s Court Martial earlier this month, which was published on the Judiciary’s website. I’m grateful to John Moss for drawing it to my attention.
Carl Gardner2012-11-20T22:47:34+00:00
Here’s the transcript of Danny Nightingale’s Court Martial earlier this month, which was published on the Judiciary’s website. I’m grateful to John Moss for drawing it to my attention.
Carl Gardner2012-11-20T22:47:34+00:00
Interesting and thanks for posting it.
It seems that those who pontificate on the matter in the media haven’t actually read the transcript.
If I read it correctly, he had the weapon for two years before any brain injury (an aggravating factor). He then had the brain injury (mitigation) from which he recovered sufficiently to return to full duties, and then moved the weapon several times (aggravating).
As to ammunition he basically stole it from the army, while acting as a range training and safety officer (grossly aggravating).
18 months seems almost too lenient, but all things considered a very fair sentence. A civilian convicted in the same circumstances would very likely have received 5 years.
This is a very sad case where a highly motivated senior NCO has not been given robust legal advice until the day of his trial. After reading the transcript, it would appear that he had strong mitigation, which is why he did not receive a prison sentence. He had no excuse to retain the weapon or to have in his possession such a large quantity of ammunition. The correct procedure is to appeal to the Court Martial Appeal court. There is merit in challenging the length of military detention as his service and medical health are very powerful mitigation.