Man jailed for carrying replica sword from Legend of Zelda video game in public
www.theguardian.com
Anthony Bray said the item, a miniature copy of a weapon in the Nintendo series, had been a fidget toy for his hands
  • JigglySackles@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    1 day ago

    America is stupid for excessive guns. But this is stupid in the other direction. Talk about over policing. Fuck me this is stupid

  • boatsnhos931@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    2 days ago

    Too bad he’s a criminal now or id tell em to come to merica where he can carry a real pistol like a big boy

  • cum@lemmy.cafeEnglish
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    2 days ago

    Why so extreme? At most it should’ve been confiscated and given a small fine.

  • jafffacakelemmy@mander.xyzEnglish
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    3 days ago

    it was only 15cm long. that’s at best a Master Dagger, not a master sword! still too long to be legal to carry out in public though.

    • hakunawazo@lemmy.worldEnglish
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      3 days ago

      It may be only a few centimeters, but you know what it could do if fully charged*.

      (*I know, that’s what he said or something)

  • k_tx@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    3 days ago

    If I’d encounter someone wielding a naked 15cm blade, I’d be extremely wary as well. That blade can easily cause serious harm or kill, regardless of being a replica toy or not. Walking around with what is essentially a dagger is reckless. Maybe the sentence is a bit harsh, but that dude deserved being stopped.

    • locuester@lemmy.zipEnglish
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      3 days ago

      Can’t pretty much everything around you cause serious harm or kill??? I don’t understand this stance.

  • Deceptichum@quokk.auEnglish
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    3 days ago

    With a bit more self-awareness, Bray could have avoided contact with us completely.”

    With a shred of brain matter, Sgt Spellman and the bastards he works with, could have not pursued such a ridiculous “crime”.

  • VelvetStorm@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    3 days ago

    In addition to the four months in prison, he was required to pay a victim surcharge of £154.

    So not only was there no victim here but himself he is also now out of work for a minimum of 4 months he’s now out 154 bucks. Fuck this world. Like ya, I get that there is that law for a reason, so sure, maybe give him a fine or better yet community service and then let him be on his way. What they have done benefits no one at all and wastes local resources.

    • JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyzEnglish
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      3 days ago

      Victim surcharge is just a fine with another name.
      It goes to a fund that pays compensation for victims of crimes and £154 is just what you have to pay for any crime that results in you getting a jail sentence of 6 months or below.

  • fulcrummed@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    3 days ago

    I know people are reacting strongly, prob a large US contingent here and that’s understandable. It is a completely different world in the UK. The police don’t carry firearms (specialist response teams do) as they are just not as available to the general public. Knives or clubs/bats are the most common weapon encountered. Even in that context I too find the sentence pretty heavy on the face of it. The article was rubbish at giving anything other than rage-bait. It didn’t explain if there were circumstances of aggravation, does he have form (ie prior same or related offences), were there vulnerable people in the vicinity, which specific charge was he accused with (possessing or threatening with) did he plead guilty, were there mitigating factors that actually reduced his sentence as the mandatory minimum sentence for “threatening with a weapon” is six months, eg did he cooperate, is he a sole caregiver for someone at home etc.

    Only thing I’ve walked away knowing is the author of the article seemed more interested in provoking outrage and upping their hit count than demonstrating any investigative nous or journalistic integrity.

    • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyzEnglish
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      3 days ago

      Even though we have the gun nuts all over this fucked up country, we do manage to far outscore the UK on per capita knife crime as well. Yay us. I agree with your take on the motivation for the article.

  • Mothra@mander.xyzEnglish
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    3 days ago

    Bit draconian hey. I admit the whole thing was stupid but considering he didn’t hurt anyone with this toy or show intention to do so a fine alone would have been more than enough. 4 months prison? Wtf

  • Pacattack57@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    3 days ago

    Just to be clear this was not in the US. Their weapons laws are way more restrictive then ours. Apparently he was brandishing it and approached police with it. Sounds like he is a moron.