A judge has sentenced Reece Sargeant (left), Darren Case (right), and David Blenman each to 12 years in prison for the “happy slapping” death of gay barman David Morley. “Happy Slapping” is a relatively recent phenomenon in which random acts of violence on unsuspecting victims are filmed and then placed on the internet. David Morley was on London’s South Bank when the attack happened in October 2004. Morley was a survivor of a nail bomb attack at the Admiral Duncan Pub in London’s Soho district in 1999. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive the brutal beating from these four youths.
The judge in the case issued the four killers a stern reprimand: “No-one listening to this case could fail to have been affected by your selfishness and blindness to the suffering of others. You sought enjoyment from humiliation and pleasure from the infliction of pain, and you were clearly determined to continue and take advantage of any opportunity that presented itself. Each of your victims was totally innocent and taken totally by surprise. You behaved with total indifference to those who crossed your path in the heart of London. No citizen of this country should be in fear of or subjected to this sort of behaviour…You called this ‘happy slapping’ – no victim on the receiving end would dignify it with such a deceptive description.”
Gang Jailed for Kicking Gay Barman to Death [times online]
