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Dependence On Cannabis Linked To 'Horrifically Violent Attack'
Ireland Online | 02/06/06

A cannabis user was jailed today after launching a horrific attack on his girlfriend’s multi-millionaire mother.

Peter Thomas, 21, received an indeterminate sentence from Judge Roger Chapple at a London court.

The judge jailed him for a minimum of three years but said he could not be released until the parole board considered it safe to the public for him to be freed.

The judge said he accepted Thomas would not have attacked his victim, music producer Lisa Voice, 52, had he not been suffering from mental illness, which was exacerbated by his use of cannabis.

The court heard he had been using the drug since the age of 15 and more recently was taking the stronger “skunk” strain.

The judge said: “I accept that at the time of this offence you had a mental disorder, namely schizophrenia, which may have been precipitated by and exacerbated by a dependent use of cannabis.

“I accept that this offence was attributable to your mental illness. If you had not been mentally ill at the time you would not have committed this offence.”

He said Thomas had carried out a “sustained and horrifically violent attack” leaving Ms Voice with “devastating” injuries.

Frank Winslett, defending, said: “He started using cannabis when he was aged 15. more recently he has been using the stronger form known as skunk. That brought about what’s occurred, it would appear.

“There is no direct evidence but I think one has to say there must be a connection between his drug addiction and what occurred.”

Outside court Ms Voice, who underwent a series of operations to rebuild her face after the attack, condemned the sentence.

Ms Voice told reporters: "We are absolutely shocked and I am very disappointed. I am thinking about leaving the country.

“You can do anything and get away with it, even attempted murder, if you use cannabis as an excuse.

Her lawyer, Dr Shahrokh Mireskandari, said: “We consider that this is an appalling sentence. He should have got many years more but unfortunately the system has allowed Mr Thomas to get away with it.”

In court, Richard Germain, prosecuting told how Ms Voice’s 15-year-old daughter Kimberley, Thomas’s girlfriend, had noticed how his behaviour had become “increasingly erratic” in the days leading up to the attack on June 7 last year.

He said: “He believed that he was getting subliminal messages from the television and that his friends were against him and he said that he believed that Kimberley was a man and that she was cheating on him.

“This led to Kimberley coming to the conclusion that his mental health was deteriorating.”

The court heard that during Thomas’s attack on Ms Voice he punched her and put her in a headlock, leaving her struggling to breathe.

At one stage her daughter Kimberley thought she was going to die.

The attack culminated with Thomas running towards his victim, jumping on her, and landing on her upper body and head.

Her injuries included a broken jaw and nose and collapsed lung, while she also sustained damage to her eyes.

Both she and her children continue to undergo counselling in relation to the attack.

The court heard that the victim's son, Michael, 20, was also in the house and during the attack tried to stop Thomas.

Thomas was eventually forced into an adjoining room and kept there until the police arrived.
Mr Germain said Ms Voice’s injuries to her face had been “quite severe with multiple fractures”.

In a statement to the court about the impact of the attack, he said she explained she still expected to have to undergo further surgery in the future.

As a result of her injuries she had titanium plates inserted into her face which later were believed to have caused an infection and will now have to be removed.

She also needs more surgery to her nose and grafting to rebuild her facial features.

Mr Germain said: “She doesn’t really know what the outcome will be but she expects it will be various surgical procedures over the coming months.”

Also as a result of her injuries she is unable to work and is looked after by a team of bodyguards.

The court heard details of Thomas’s interview with police after the attack.

Mr Germain said: “He said that he had been feeling paranoid for some time and he felt that Ms Voice was in some way trying to hurt her daughter and as a result he attacked her to help his girlfriend.

“He described feeling it was all like being in a film in which he was participating.”

He admitted that he had been smoking skunk, but could not remember when he last took it.

The court heard he had a string of convictions for offences such as burglary, theft and aggravated vehicle taking for which he had received sentences totalling four years in young offenders’ institutes.

The judge said: “This is a very sad case. Mr Thomas was plainly unwell at the time of the offence.”

Sentencing him, he said: “What you did caused devastating injuries to Ms Voice, your girlfriend’s mother. It was a sustained and horrifically violent attack culminating in you jumping into the air and bearing your full force onto her face.

“The injuries that were caused were appalling. She went to intensive care. She required facial reconstruction. She has undergone and will have to undergo several operative procedures. She is in constant pain and her life is forever changed.”

The Judge accepted Thomas was “genuinely sorry” for what he had done, but he said he was not prepared to accept the risk of his reoffending on the public.

A psychiatric report had shown he would be at risk unless he was kept off cannabis and on his anti-psychotic medication.

The judge said: “The sentence I must pass upon you is an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection.

“You will be released from prison only when the parole board considers it safe for you to be released.”

The judge said Thomas would have to serve a minimum of three years before being considered for parole.

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Buzzby

It would appear that way to a defense attorney because it gives his client an "out". How would he explain the 99.99% of marijuana users who don't attempt to beat anyone to death?


I love this. "There is no direct evidence" is followed by "there must be a connection". Huh?


Only as long as people are willing to believe the ridiculous idea that a drug can "make" you commit a crime. They don't excuse drunks for crimes they commit while high on the juice. Why should it be any different for marijuana users?

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reggie_the_dog

this guy should have spent a long time in jail or in a mental health hospital, he is criminally insane, drug use aside he is still criminally insane, he is a menace to society.

johnnyd

You really can't blame a defence attorney for using whatever arguement might work to get his client off.

What you got to hate is the persistent use (or excuse) of marijuana as the real villian in these scenarios. "Oh Judge it was the marijuana that caused me to do bad things". When are people going to take responsibility fro their actions?

Buzzby

Did you read the whole article? That's exactly what he got.

 

johnnyd

You're wrong to assume he's going to spend a long time in jail. He could get out tommorow if the parole board thinks he's safe to release.

Buzzby

Did you read the whole article?

johnnyd

Sorry. I missed that part of the article.

Cassius

It's not particularly in vogue right now in the US.

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