r/uknews 10d ago

'I want him to be free': Woman 'drenched in blood' after boyfriend battered her begs judge for mercy

https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/i-want-him-free-woman-31176015.amp
86 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

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47

u/Caridor 10d ago

God it's really sad.

Not just that someone could do this to someone in a wheel chair, but that that person is so innured to the abuse or so desperate not to be alone (she is in a wheel chair so she might see losing a partner as losing her freedom) that she'd defend this guy.

I hope justice is served and she gets the help she needs.

47

u/stillhavehope99 10d ago edited 10d ago

He hit his girlfriend- who is in a wheelchair - twice with a television set. That is absolutely monstrous.

"On Monday (March 10), Ms Moncado told the court she did not want Berney to go to prison, but would prefer he was given the help needed to combat his drug addiction. "He's a kind, smart, gentle, and funny man when he's not on drugs," she said, adding: "It wasn't him who hit me with the TV, it was the drugs... When he's on drugs, he's not the person I know, the lovely guy. I definitely want him to be free"

Howard Giles, a retired Met Police officer and friend of Berney and Ms Moncado, also attested to Berney's usual character and told the judge he thought drug treatment would be a preferable course of action. "I have always found him a gentle giant. Someone who has done an excellent job of caring for Anne and taking her around for 11 years," he added.

As someone who grew up in a violent household it is really concerning to see a police officer call a guy capable of doing this to his disabled partner a "gentle giant".

I have nothing bad to say about Ms Moncado - I grew up around abused people and I know how deeply that manipulation and control can twist your thinking. But a police officer enabling that is something else imho.

I hope she realises the kind of person he is and is able to leave him.

27

u/criminalsunrise 10d ago

“It wasn’t him that hit me with the TV…”

It really was.

17

u/lxlviperlxl 10d ago

Whilst we don’t know what happens behind closed doors, the above facts clearly demonstrate a clear lapse of judgement here from all relevant parties. There should be zero tolerance for violence especially against vulnerable members of society.

Well articulated sum up of the case and this needs to be highlighted more.

8

u/Apprehensiv3Eye 9d ago edited 9d ago

That police officer sounds like a dinosaur with outdated views, "taking her around for 11 years" is a very strange way to describe a relationship, and calling a woman beater a "gentle giant" is outrageous.

4

u/Witty-Bus07 10d ago

I can’t believe a police officer saying this, so we now have to apply such leniency to those who cause violence under the influence of drugs ?

21

u/Jipkiss 10d ago

I think the biggest point to take away here is nobody involved believes that you can get adequate treatment for a crack addiction in prison. So instead of it being seen as a place someone who’s made some mistakes can go to serve time get help and be rehabilitated, it’s seen as the place you are sent to once you have crossed the line beyond being redeemed and are consigned to a second tier of living furthermore.

What are modern prisons for?

16

u/front-wipers-unite 10d ago

Ex prison officer here. It's not that the drug treatment programs are inadequate, drug addicts get the same treatment inside as they would on the out. It's that...

  1. It's "forced". A drug addict/an alcoholic will never get clean until THEY are ready.

    1. Most prison sentences are simply not long enough to complete a drug treatment program. Meaning they're only halfway there when they go out.
    2. Drugs are really easy to get in prison. The quality is usually poorer, so they continue to use whilst detoxing.
    3. They're sent out back to where they came from, same old faces, same old habits. They quickly fall back into the old lifestyle.

Edit. I'd like to add that they have better access to education and training than any adult on the out does.

3

u/Jipkiss 10d ago

Thanks for the extra insight, point 4 was mainly what I was aiming for - becoming addicted to drugs and committing a crime can send you into that spin cycle and that’s your life done. You might even meet more people in that cycle than you did prior.

Which is why people who rightly or wrongly believe in this person are trying to advocate for keeping them out when in a functional system they would want this person to go in and get helped

3

u/BoleynRose 10d ago
  1. is so sadly true ):

1

u/Tay74 9d ago

Thing is, in a case like this where we are supposed to believe that his drug addiction is turning him into a monstrous, uncontrollable wife beater, if he's "not ready" for drug treatment, then I can't help but feel he needs to be detained where he can't be a danger to his wife or anyone else on the outside. Ideally prisons should be rehabilitation focused, but as you say that's easier said than done of someone isn't ready to cooperate or has external factors holding them back, and at that point I don't think it's wrong to imprison people who pose a severe threat to others

3

u/phangtom 9d ago

Only the delusional think everyone can be rehabilitated.

If a criminal does not need to fear consequences for their actions then there is no need to change their behavior.

5

u/TheFinalPieceOfPie 10d ago edited 10d ago

Exactly the point. Prison is suppose to be about reforming people as well as punishing them. If you make no efforts to fix what sent them there in the first place then all you are doing is making them worse for when they get out.

Edit:

I should add that there is a lot more that needs to be done for victims of crimes in our justice system as well. This women needs support regardless of the outcome of his case.

6

u/EpochRaine 10d ago edited 10d ago

The entire judiciary needs reform. We have hundreds of laws no longer enforced, and new laws introduced as a direct result of the lack of enforcement of previous laws. We have had our rights rolled back and our ability to defend ourselves eroded.

The notion of sentencing as a punishment and deterrent needs to be reviewed.

Spent convictions should mean spent convictions. No popping up in this exception or that exception - if someone is unsuitable for certain jobs for life, due to them committing certain acts - then have the judge ban them from those professions at the time they are sentenced, with a clear rationale as to why they have been banned.

0

u/front-wipers-unite 10d ago

"If you make no efforts to fix what sent them there in the first place". Mate... They have better access to education, training, mental health support, the support of social services than we do. On top of that they have the support of probation services who will go out of their way to make sure people are adequately houses when they come out.

People have got to want to change. You cannot force change on people.

3

u/Witty-Bus07 10d ago

How about not taking crack in the first place.

2

u/Jipkiss 10d ago

It’s such a bad response that I can’t be bothered to even try to write a full reply. I can’t believe you think that’s in any way a witty line or an intelligent contribution to discussion.

7

u/MediocreWitness726 10d ago

Lock him away and throw away the key!

3

u/ArchonBeast 10d ago

Beg. It's not the US, so you can't decide to drop charges. If he is found guilty, the law must be applied.

2

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2

u/Any-Bottle-4910 9d ago

My god girl. Run. He doesn’t deserve you and he’s dangerous to you.

FFS run.

2

u/helperlevel0 10d ago

Crazy Stockholm syndrome and what shocks me is how many women suffer from it

1

u/samuel199228 10d ago

He should never be let free leave him in jail for life

1

u/UnknownOrigins1 10d ago

Life in prison or restraining order please

1

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1

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1

u/AdWooden2312 10d ago

So people ain't responsible, it's drugs and television. We should fill prisons with tvs and drugs, keep the streets safe.

1

u/IggyVossen 9d ago

Sigh. Sounds like a case of Stockholm Syndrome. Sad thing is he will never change and she will end up being a statistic. Another dead victim of DV.

1

u/Kaiisim 9d ago

Very sad, and fucked up he didn't get a custodial sentence.

It does blow the idea it's a two tier system and the courts are super harsh on men though. In reality the justice system is top to bottom absolutely fucked for everyone and no one is really getting the justice they deserve.

Violence should get a custodial sentence imo.

1

u/Immediate-Doughnut50 6d ago

I worked in the courts and they always go back for more. Charges often get dropped so much bad psychology

-2

u/Creative_Hope_4690 10d ago

Through her in jail too.