Edward Flaherty, 74, was convicted of strangling his wife of 52 years to death. As his punishment, a judge in Glasgow, Scotland ordered that he not go to the local pub for one year.
Edward Flaherty had dementia, so much so that, when asked who killed his wife, he said, “It must have been me. There are no ghosts running about the house who would have done that.” The judge hearing his case of culpable homicide decided that a suitable punishment for Flaherty would be to deny him the right to go to his favorite pub where he often went with his wife.
Lord (Judge) Matthews said, “You still go to the pub where you went with your wife. That must annoy her relatives. Not being able to go there will be a more meaningful disposal that a prison sentence which will not last long.”
99 percent of cases in which a man kills his wife for not giving him money to go out drinking would result in life in prison. But when the case involves an elderly, sickly man who doesn’t even remember the act of killing his wife, apparently taking away his freedom to drink and cavort with friends is punishment enough.
Source: BBC
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