Does the punishment fit the crimes, I think not

G-Block Gang ruled West London streets with dozens of sadistic robberies


A gang of teenagers who prowled the streets around their homes “like a pack of wild dogs” were sentenced today for showing “sadistic pleasure” in carrying out dozens of attacks.
Members of the gang, one as young as 13, made their streets in West London unsafe for residents and commuters as they committed at least 56 robberies of increasing violence, Kingston Crown Court was told.
Judge Nicholas Price, QC, told the gang members: “You all hunted like a pack of wild dogs intent on seeking out your prey and treating them without mercy.”
The “G-Block Gang”, named after the address of three members, were told by the judge that they gloried in notoriety by posing for photographs and posting messages about the robberies on the internet.
They wore dark clothing, balaclavas and masks from the horror film, Scream, and were armed with knives and a mallet during numerous attacks between July and December 2007. They often carried out a spate of robberies in one night and once attacked eight people in three hours.
The judge said: “A very disturbing factor is that as time went by the attacks grew even more vicious. It appeared you derived more pleasure from gratuitous violence than from the robberies themselves.”
He had lifted reporting restrictions on identifying some gang members because “What they did is so serious that it is in the public interest that their names should be published.”
The gang’s leader, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wrote on the Microsoft Network Service: “I stamped her face out and bust her head open because she was getting me mad... blud she got me vex so I wernt showin any mercy.”
Heather Norton, for the prosecution, said: “Many of these robberies are characterised by extreme violence, with the level increasing over time. Victims were punched, kicked, stamped upon and threatened or hit with weapons.”
Police said that force used by the gang, most of whom had no criminal record, escalated from a low level to violence against people who had already handed over their belongings. Detective Sergeant Phil Booth, of the Wandsworth Robbery Team, said that the crimes were particularly disturbing “because of the age of some of the defendants and how quickly their previously good character developed into a desire for wanton violence.
“Many of the victims were simply walking home from train stations when they were confronted by the gang, who would run towards and surround the victim. The level of savagery to which their attacks quickly escalated was absolutely shocking and it is extremely lucky they did not have more serious consequences.”
The 18-year-old ringleader admitted conspiracy to rob and was sentenced to seven years in a young offender institution. Peter Hyatt, 18, of Tooting, was found guilty of conspiracy to rob and sentenced to 4½ years in a young offender institution. Jerome Blake, 15, of Crystal Palace, was found guilty of the same charge and detained for four years.
The other gang members admitted the same charge. Akheem Gray, 16, of Tulse Hill, was detained for four years, his brother, Ameel Gray, of Mitcham, was detained for 3½ years.
The eldest member of the gang, Lufter Ahmed, 19, of Wandsworth, was sentenced to three years and nine months in a young offender institution.
Abdi Nur, 18, of Wandsworth, was given a four-year sentence. Jordan Rattray, 17, was given a two-year detention and training order.