Jail Term reduced for "neighbour from hell"

[karrie]

Jail term cut for "neighbor from hell" granny



Thu May 3, 8:50 AM


LONDON (Reuters) - An 81-year-old British grandmother branded by a judge as "the original neighbor from hell" had her jail term cut Wednesday but lost a bid for freedom because she wouldn't apologize for her actions.

Dorothy Evans, a widow from Wales, was jailed two weeks ago for harassment and breaching an Anti-Social Behavior Order after repeatedly shouting at her neighbors and hitting them with her walking stick.

Her lawyer said she was attacked in jail by another inmate Tuesday. She arrived at London's Appeal Court in a wheelchair flanked by three prison officers, with a plaster over one eye.

Appeal Court Judge Nicholas Underhill cut Evans's six-month sentence by a third but said she must spend at least another four weeks locked up after refusing to apologize.

"Old age is not a license to disregard the law or the requirements of decent behavior toward others," he said.

In sentencing the grandmother, Judge Roderick Denyer said he had taken into account her age and would have jailed her for much longer if she had been younger.

Defense lawyer David Webster said Evans had experienced "profound difficulty" in accepting blame, although she was "totally sorry to find herself in the situation she does."

 

[eh1eh]

You know, there are some people who just 'need' to do time for antisocial behavior.:angryfire:

 

[able]

The old girl seems to make freinds wherever she goes. Next thing you know, she will be accusing the rest of the world for picking on her. Trying to remember where I've seen that kind of behaviour before.

 

[karrie]

Hmm.. I found it kind of odd that they imprisoned rather than hospitalized her personally. Mind you, perhaps there is proof she was always like this. But, with a lot of older people, this is the major sign of the onset of problems like dementia and alzheimers.

 

[Josephine]

Interesting terminology...what if someone is actually clinically diagnosed with Anti-Social Disorder?;-)

 

[able]

And then again, maybe she's just a miserable old bitch. There are people like that, and it isn't confined to one gender. I remember one old girl who made my life hell, until I started wearing ear plugs in her prescence, after that , she never said a word. If she had dementia, the ear plugs wouldn't have made a difference, obviously, she just enjoyed beating on people for no reason.

 

[able]

Josephine: anti social behavioural disorders used to be called psychopaths. Approximately 5% of the population fall into this category, and those who feel so inclined tend to kill people. The rest are content to amass lots of toys, and in Ted Bundy's case, socks. They often seem to have a fixation with feet. If you check the DSM4, you will find it is not recognised as an insanity defence.

 

[Josephine]

Josephine: anti social behavioural disorders used to be called psychopaths. Approximately 5% of the population fall into this category, and those who feel so inclined tend to kill people. The rest are content to amass lots of toys, and in Ted Bundy's case, socks. They often seem to have a fixation with feet. If you check the DSM4, you will find it is not recognised as an insanity defence.

Actually...I was totally being sarcastic! Sorry!

 

[Libra Girl]

I do feel that due to her age that prison might not be the best place to 'contain' her. I think anti-social behaviour is becoming more prevalent and needs to be addressed firmly and sensibly, and by all accounts this woman has been a problem for some time. I'm not sure what the answer would be in her case, but I just don't think we should be locking up octogenarians unless they have committed armed robbery, murder, or some other heinous crime.

 

[jwv]

Who hasn't lived near a miserable old coot before? When I was growing up there was that old lady down the street that gave us kids hell just for stepping on her grass

 

[Pangloss]

Josephine: anti social behavioural disorders used to be called psychopaths. Approximately 5% of the population fall into this category, and those who feel so inclined tend to kill people. The rest are content to amass lots of toys, and in Ted Bundy's case, socks. They often seem to have a fixation with feet. If you check the DSM4, you will find it is not recognised as an insanity defence.

5% Able? Tell me, do you just pick these numbers out of your bum? One out of twenty "who feel so inclined tend to kill people"?

Wow - there must be a whole mountain of bodies we've never found - murders by the thousands the media is conspiring not to tell us about!

I understand it also just might be a case of messy writing on your part - the whole "socks" disclaimer.

Able - I'm not disagreeing with your premise - just your innumeracy.


Pangloss

 

[Vereya]

I feel great compassion for this old woman's neighbors. .You know, it is a very strange thing, but I always have great problems with elderly people, and I really can't understand why. I mean, I don't pick fights with them, I don't give parties in my apartment, I don't have drunk friends running all over the place, I don't behave in a rude way to them. The only thing I do is say "hello" when I occasionally meet them on the stairs. But yet there is always at least one elderly person, who goes out of her or his way to make things unpleasant to me. It's absolutely incomprehensible. :-? Must be some bad karma, I guess. So each time that I hear of an elderly person having troubles with neighbours, I am always sorry for the neighbours.

 

[able]

The figure of 5% is accurate, as I remember it from my days of working in the mental health field. Contact your local mental health authorities, they can give you percentages for any mental condition. I don't pull figures out of my rear end, or the air. If you read my post carefully, you will note that I said and those who are inclined to,(note) kill. Is there a conspiracy to hide the bodies? Not to my knowledge, but I do know that murders are being commited all the time, and no one pays any particular attention, unless it affects them directly. People don't tend to think about things they don't think about. We in Canada like to think that sort of thing only happens in the US, and then a pig farmer is suddenly discovered. Make no mistake, there are more of those pig farmers out there, but if the media doesn't jump on it, they will pass without notice. Are there thousands of dead out there, yes, but most people ignore it, after all people only think about what they think about. Granted, the majority are in the US, but they are in the thousands. In fact, there is a junction of 4 states that serves as a dumping ground for dead bodies(the vast majority being female) and regular patrols through the region find the regular crop of bodies. Now, back to mental issues, different conditions exhibit different characteristics, if you get the chance, you should read anything by Robert Ressler, formerly from the FBIs behavioural division. He could even tell you what kind of car the murderer drove. In conclusion, I never pull things out of the air, nor do I like being misquoted or have words put in my mouth, and I am sure you feel the same.

 

[able]

Vereya: at 67, I am classified as elderly, but don't fall into the category of miserable old bugger, possibly because I still remember how I felt when I was young, (it only feels like a few years) but many people don't age well, these are usually the ones who knew they would remain young forever, look around you, and you will notice that the majority of your peers fall into that category. I have noticed that a number of older women who are difficult to get along with are preoccupied with their poverty, next time you're going for a hamburger, offer to buy them one and try to deliver it warm. Don't be forward about it, just make it as unimportant as it seems to you. Too many older people are put off by the perceived rambunctiousness of youth, and tend to categorise age groups(just like we all do), if you see one of them struggling with a load, offer to help, cast your bread on the waters. Just try not to be a pain, get to know them, and you might even find that some of them had interesting lives. A lot of the elderly don't like the fact that they have become marginalised by a youth oriented society, and then, there are the miserable old coots.

 

[Niflmir]

I do feel that due to her age that prison might not be the best place to 'contain' her. I think anti-social behaviour is becoming more prevalent and needs to be addressed firmly and sensibly, and by all accounts this woman has been a problem for some time. I'm not sure what the answer would be in her case, but I just don't think we should be locking up octogenarians unless they have committed armed robbery, murder, or some other heinous crime.

The judge probably didn't have a lot of options. Clearly after talking to her he felt that she was sane enough to be held culpable. Anyways, house arrest probably wasn't seen as an option since she probably spends most of her time at home anyways, community service is probably out of the question at her age, forcing a retired person to work is slightly ironic. In Canada, attacking someone with a cane would be considered aggravated assault and I think carries up to life in prison, for anyone else, 6 months (minus 2 for bad behavior?) would be a slap on the wrist, but at her age, it probably suffices.

 

[Libra Girl]

The judge probably didn't have a lot of options. Clearly after talking to her he felt that she was sane enough to be held culpable. Anyways, house arrest probably wasn't seen as an option since she probably spends most of her time at home anyways, community service is probably out of the question at her age, forcing a retired person to work is slightly ironic. In Canada, attacking someone with a cane would be considered aggravated assault and I think carries up to life in prison, for anyone else, 6 months (minus 2 for bad behavior?) would be a slap on the wrist, but at her age, it probably suffices.

Yes, I think you're right Niflmir, the judge was obviously unable to recommend anything other than prison, simply because other resources were unsuitable. I don't doubt that we have all at some time in our lives encountered someone such as this lady, who seems to thrive on animosity, and is clearly anti-social. Certainly one must consider her neighbors also, as you say, attacking someone with a cane is totally not acceptable; it is an assault, and no-one should be exempt from punishment of it just because of age...

 

[Curiosity]

Some elderly people are plagued with physical problems - hearing going - eyesight going - friends dying - children (if there are any) avoiding them and even some have mild early onset of dementia.

It can be fun being so isolated and hurt and probably angry too. They seem to push help away perhaps so they won't have to face more disappointments.

The judge might have ordered some mental assessments for her while she was 'doing time'.... they might have found her some relief ....