Anger as ‘soft’ judge frees career burglar.
A SOFT-touch judge provoked outrage when he allowed a career criminal to walk free from court because he could see “green shoots” of a change in his behaviour.
Burglar Vernon Davies, 46, has 19 previous convictions and has spent much of his adult life in prison.
Last December, Davies broke into a hair salon where he stole nearly £5,000 cash and televisions, Bournemouth Crown Court was told.
The burglary came months after he was released early from prison for a break-in that left two female victims terrified. He had been jailed for three-and-a-half years by Judge Christopher Harvey Clark who told Davies that he was a menace to law-abiding residents, despite his claiming to have made “significant progress turning his life around”.
But Judge Peter Johnson gave Davies a suspended sentence after hearing strikingly similar claims he was trying to “turn his life around”.
The judge said: “The reports would seem to indicate green shoots. It may be that you are turning a corner and for your sake I hope you are.” Clive Chamberlain, chairman of the Dorset Police Federation, said rank and file officers would be frustrated, adding: “I wonder if the victims feel this is a fair result?” Express.
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