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Home > Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive > Andrew Dickens: Perhaps the problem is in the charge. Manslaughter was not invented for brawlers


	Podcast:		Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive
	Episode:		Andrew Dickens: Perhaps the problem is in the charge. Manslaughter was not invented for brawlers
	Category:		News & Politics
	Duration:		00:02:53
	Publish Date:		2022-04-12 05:01:36
	Description:		Walking in to hear the news today that Daniel Havili had been sentenced to 2 years and 9 months for the manslaughter of Fau Vake Was like being punched in the solar plexus myself. Fau and his brother ended up in a brief brawl against 4 strangers in May last year. The Vake brothers did not throw any punches themselves and were not the aggressors, prosecutors have repeatedly pointed out. Fau died. Hit by Daniel Havili. He fell and hit his head causing a brain bleed. As the judge noted he had no chance to defend himself. The blow is often described as a coward punch. I prefer killer hit. The CCTV footage clearly shows Fau standing with his arms at his side. Not in fight mode. Havili moved his weight to one side and then lashed out with a well-timed and well-judged punch that felled a Mixed Martial Arts professional instantly. Dan Hooker, the UFC fighter and mate of Fau Vake's, is horrified. He felt there was as much murderous intent in that one punch as in a flurry of 200. But the horror is in the sentence. A man went out, spoiled for a fight and killed someone and the consequence is under 3 years in jail. Perhaps less with parole. Crown Prosecutor Claire Paterson submitted Havili should have a starting point of five-and-a-half years in jail. But that was ignored. Perhaps the problem is in the charge. Manslaughter was not invented for brawlers. Manslaughter generally refers to accidental homicide arising from an unlawful act or failure to act, where death could not reasonably be expected. Can you argue that the severity of brawls these days means that death cannot be expected? We've seen it happen too many times. The City Kickboxing crew are horrified. They have argued all along that the law is wrong. And all along I have agreed. The senseless taking of a life by a drunk man with anger problems cannot be tolerated just like any murder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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