http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...uke-McCormick-set-Swindon-release-prison.html How would you react to Luke McCormick if he was to play for Watford.? I'd have great differculty in accepting him playing professional football, let alone doing it at Watford.......I'm I on my own in feeling that?, or is it a majority? Views......
On , the one hand everyone deserves a second chance on the other hand he murdered a kid whilst drunk and driving , He has served 3yrs of his sentence, but the fact remained he has ripped a son away from his family , So for that familys sake of not being subject to possibly seeing him on telly ,I would say no.
All I can say is thank the good lord we have Scott Loach and don't need this guy. I don't buy into the argument that he deserves a second chance after serving his time. He's only served half of his time for a start, and I personally find it too difficult to accept that someone who can kill two children whilst driving under the influence - twice the limit to be precise - at 5:30 in the morning deserves a second chance. It would sorely test my allegiance if we signed him.
I think I would buy in to us attempting to rehabilitate a player who had Watford connections. Attempting to take responsibility for a black sheep, if you will. I think being a goalkeeper helps, as you're less likely to be in a situation where you might be prone to a fit of rage than, say, a central midfielder. But no, I wouldn't like to see him here personally. As for professional football generally, I think in his situation it is as good a chance of genuinely re-integrating into society as he has. I'm not wildly enthusiastic about him having a route into earning upwards of £1,000 per week, but I'm just being pragmatic. While on the face of it the figure I talk about is excellent money, he's not in a position where his playing career is going to earn him enough to set up a millionaire's lifestyle: in ten years he will be close to unemployable. For that reason alone his situation is different to that of a Lee Hughes, Joey Barton or Marlon King.
Luke McCormick was in court the people of the court said he was guilty and sent him to prison for some years. He has done his punishment so why should he not return to the work he knows and is quite good at. If he can not get a job where he might succeed what should he do?
i'm really torn on this one. On the one hand, i resented even the return to football of Marlon King, and he didn't murder anyone, but..he intentionally abused women. This young man (as he was at the time) did something very stupid and irresponsible, but he didn't murder intentionally. Yes, a family is broken, and those two lovely boys can never be forgotten...the family (including the dad left in a wheelchair) have to live everyday with the result of this stupid act. Luke McCormick has done his time. He has done what the court told him to do and by all accounts, is full of remorse. He will have to live every day of his life knowing what he has done, living with that guilt. If he plays again, he will have to face fans who will not let it lie...just as we didn't when MK came to the Vic. He will get all sorts of abuse and jeering. I do think he should be given a chance, but that's not to say he will get first team football, or even sit on the bench. He's training with the team, but that doesn't have to be where he ends up. I would be happier if he was giving back something to the community in a more positive way. Perhaps working, through football, with disabled children or something like that. But if he is given the opportunity to play, i'm not sure it's such a bad thing. Having said that...if it was Watford, and not Swindon, i'd have a problem with it, though i don't know why, listening to my above arguement, that doesn't make sense!
I'm keen to stress that I'm not happy about the idea that you can kill two people and walk back into a salary that many of those paying your wages can only dream of. But the problem here is that British law, which many of this forum's users are keen supporters of, has decided that McCormick's punishment is coming to an end. It's not business's role in society to continue punishing people once the authorities have stopped, in the same way that it isn't the public's role to take vigilante action against people they are sure are guilty of crimes. The current balance is correct: employers have the right to not employ criminals, but not an obligation. And it's not Swindon Town's fault that the punishment was lenient. It is political parties of all colours' fault, for failing to enable punishments to fit the crimes. [COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC]The riots allowed judges to escalate sentences sharply, due to the aggravating factor of crime fuelling more crime and thus the riot. Offences such as taking water during a riot, whilst crimes which warrant punishment (maybe not four months in prison, but definitely something), are simply not on the same scale as killing someone, and indeed killing someone as a result of doing something which was illegal even if no-one died. So why didn't the judge have discretion to ramp up the sentence in this case?[/COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC] It is of course McCormick's fault that he's in this situation in the first place. But having gotten to the point where his prison is prepared to release him into the community, his choices were either to turn down parole, to commit another crime to stay in prison, or to use his skills to get a job in the real world. What else was he expected to do? EDIT: For those who can't be bothered to read all that: we're blaming the wrong people here. Criminal who has served what the judge considered to be his time, now trying to return to society. Business/community organisation looking to employ a talented individual, as well as rehabiliate him back into society. The blame lies squarely with the system that allows someone who broke the law and as a result killed people to be released after three years.
Actually he only served half of his punishment, and with his bad judgement to drink and drive, he ended up killing two children. He might not drink and drive again, but he may still do something as stupid. I do not think he got enough time in prison. Also, in response to your last question, He should have thought about that before he drank and drove!
A cousin of mine seved a year for causing death by dangerous driving. A momentary lapse for an individual without a criminal thought or bone in his body. There are cases where the sentence is too light, the individual shows no remorse, shows a disregard for the feelings of the wronged family and then again there are the cases where the offendor lives a life of regret for an instant of stupidity they recognize as such. Theres nothing to gain by continuing the punshment in the latter cases but everything to gain from applying more "lessons" in the earlier case. I'm not au fait with the individual but if he's in the latter category good luck to him in forming some semblence of a life and if he's an ignorant little pr*ck with no conscience i hope he rots in hell along with MK.
He's done his time, everyone makes mistakes in life. Yes, his was a very serious one, make no mistake about it. I feel that everyone should be allowed to rebuld their lives and try to prove that the mistakes they made were a one off. I wouldn't want him at our club, to be honest. However, imagine you were in his shoes. Surely you'd want another chance and not to have your life written off. It must be hard with the media concentrating on the lives of so called celebrities or footballers. He must deal with the consequences now. I have made a few mistakes in life that I have had to come back from, thankfully none as serious as his but I think people should lay off him. Imagine if you've killed someone by drink driving, it must be hard to live with yourself if you are a decent person and reflect upon it... If it ever happens again though he should be hanged. personally I think he should never be allowed to drive again.
I think prison or community services should be a lesson to be learnt, not necessarily a punishment. I couldn't really care about whether they suffer or not, what's ultimately important is that they come back into society with a better attitude and don't do what they've done wrong again. There's worse people in football, maybe they've not caused someone to die but I don't think you can judge someone in that way. I'm sure quite a few people drink drive... people do all kinds of things where someone could die. That doesn't make it ok but this was an unfortunate accident and he most likely has huge remorse for what happened. I find the fact that people can do the same thing but get a much lower sentence or get away with it because no one was hurt. It just seems like a flaw to me..... He's served his time, there's no reason to stop him going back to work. Honestly if he joined Watford I would be cautious that he might do something like that again, but I would be fine with it otherwise.
No. If it had been me,(and didn't have family responsibilities) I would have killed myself (but then again with family responsibilities I would never have got into that situation). The time served is pitiful in view of the consequences, and as for intent, driving while drunk is no different to waving a loaded gun about with the safety off. The casual way in which motoring offenses are treated is shamefulin this country. A friend of mine who was knocked offhis bicycle by a "careless" driver is still in a nursing home 4 years on - he can communicate only in grunts, and his wife and 2 teenage daughters don't know if he recognises them. The driver got a £200 fine and 6 points. I would seriously consider my loyalty to the club if we did sign McCormick or similar.
I think his punishment was too lenient. I wish he had to serve a minimum of 10 years for his crime. Even that would seem insufficient to the family who were devastated. However given that he has served his sentence what do people now expect? Like any other person he has to earn a living and this is his profession so he should be allowed to do it. I wonder how many of us did something careless, stupid and dangerous when we were young. I suspect he is a decent person underneath and wakes every morning with the consequences of what he has done - I know I could not stand that memory if it were me.
I would break the habit of a life time and actually jeer and boo a player. Its bad enough that he only got 7yrs for committing what i feel should be illegal act manslaughter, but the fact that he is getting out after only 3yrs is laughable.
Ofcourse its not his fault the actual prison terms seems so short but it really makes you wonder if from a PR and safety point of view is it worth this guy trying to get back into football. He'll quite rightly get loads of abuse from fans and other players because they will have young kids the same age as the 2 tragic lads who died because of the goalie's actions. Then again I guess he has to do something in life...rather than just sit on benefits? I feel very sorry for the family that their grief has pretty much been played in the public eye of the media at times with daft questions being asked of them. Such as "How do you feel about the guy being allowed out"! Should be left alone as with all greiving families unless they want to be in the limelight.
