Oxford student who stabbed boyfriend gets suspended sentence

2017-09-30 17:20 Last Updated At：17:20

An Oxford University student who stabbed her boyfriend with a bread knife will be able to avoid prison after receiving a suspended sentence Monday.

Lavinia Woodward, a medical student hoping to be a surgeon, met her boyfriend, Thomas Fairclough, through the dating app Tinder.

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The lawyer said that Woodward's dreams of being a surgon were "almost impossible" when her convition is disclosed // Photo via Facebook

Woodward posed to raise money for school's LGBT group society.

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The lawyer said that Woodward's dreams of being a surgon were "almost impossible" when her convition is disclosed // Photo via Facebook

Photo via Facebook

Woodward posed to raise money for school's LGBT group society.

When the incident happened, Fairclough tried to call the police to stop her. "I think my girlfriend has taken a lot of drugs and is throwing a lot of stuff around the house." Fairclough told in the operator and was asked if Woodward had been on drugs. "Yes, she’s definitely on cocaine at least," he replied.

Woodward was given a 10-month suspended sentence. The judge had said in May that he might not impose prison time, which prompted some British newspapers to complain she was getting special treatment because of her connection to the elite university.

The Sun tabloid wrote that she was judged "too brainy to be jailed."

Oxford Crown Court Judge Ian Pringle told Woodward there were many "mitigating" factors that allowed him to suspend her sentence.

"Principally, at the age of 24 you have no previous convictions of any nature whatsoever," he said. "Secondly, I find that you were genuinely remorseful following this event."

He also said experts had concluded she suffered from a personality disorder, a severe eating disorder and dependence on alcohol and drugs.

The judge credited her with being "determined" to get rid of her drug and alcohol addictions.

"Finally, and most significantly, you have demonstrated over the last nine months that you are determined to rid yourself of your alcohol and drug addiction and have undergone extensive treatment including counseling to address the many issues that you face," he said.

Woodward had pleaded guilty earlier to "unlawful wounding," which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The incident happened on Dec. 30. The judge said her boyfriend visited her, found out she had been drinking, and called her mother, which infuriated Woodward.

He said she then attacked him with a bread knife, stabbing him in the lower leg, before turning the knife on herself. He said the boyfriend intervened to prevent her from harming herself.

South African politician Julius Malema sentenced to 5 years for firing rifle shots at rally

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African opposition party leader Julius Malema was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday after he was convicted of breaking firearm laws by firing a rifle at a political rally in 2018.

He was released pending an appeal, which will be heard at a later date.

If the verdict and sentence are upheld, Malema will be disqualified as a lawmaker. South African law bars anyone from serving in Parliament if they have been convicted of an offense and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison without the option of a fine.

Malema was convicted in October on five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharge of a firearm in a built-up area and reckless endangerment.

Malema addressed hundreds of his party supporters, popularly known as “fighters," many of whom traveled from various provinces to attend the sentencing. Clad in their red party regalia, they chanted and sang before and after the sentence was delivered.

A defiant Malema criticized the magistrate, claiming she was biased against him throughout the case. “We were tried by a magistrate who doesn't read, who uses emotions, who speaks politics. We are done with her, we are going to a higher court,” he said.

Delivering the sentence, Magistrate Twanet Olivier said she considered the magnitude of the offense when she determined his sentence. “We hear daily, or weekly, of children playing in the front yards, in the street, who are caught in crossfire, random shots fired, killing people. It’s just the first time that we hear, it’s being called celebratory shots,” Olivier said.

The fiery lawmaker, who leads the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters party, was charged alongside his bodyguard Anton Snyman, after the video of the incident went viral. Snyman was found not guilty.

During his trial and sentencing, Malema said that the charges against him were politically motivated as they were brought by Afriforum, a lobby group for the white Afrikaner minority group that has been at odds with Malema for years.

Olivier said the sentence and verdict was based solely on his actions on the day.

Malema, whose party is the fourth-biggest in the country, is a divisive figure, mainly because of his party policies, which include the expropriation of white-owned land without compensation and the nationalization of mines and banks.

He appeared in a video shown by U.S. President Donald Trump during a tense meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last year, where he was singing a controversial anti-apartheid song that has been interpreted by some as calling for violence against Afrikaners.

Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Oxford student who stabbed boyfriend gets suspended sentence