Non-footy. I sincerely hope there is more to this story.....

...or charges are dropped otherwise the justice system in the UK is well and truly f*cked!

" The homeowner (A 78-year-old man)has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a suspected burglar was stabbed to death.
The homeowner discovered two intruders in Further Green Road, Hither Green, south-east London, at about 00:45 BST.
One suspect, armed with a screwdriver, forced the man into his kitchen where a struggle ensued and he was stabbed, Scotland Yard said.
The 38-year-old was taken to hospital by paramedics but was pronounced dead at 03:40.
The pensioner, who suffered bruising to his arms, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
He remains in custody at a south London police station.
Police said they were called to the property over reports of a burglary where they found a man with a stab wound to the upper body.
The man's next of kin have been informed and a post-mortem examination would take place "in due course", the Met added."

If as reported... key points..

• The homeowner (A 78-year-old man) !!!discovered two intruders in Further Green Road, Hither Green, south-east London, at about 00:45 BST.
• One suspect, armed with a screwdriver, forced the man into his kitchen where a struggle ensued and he was stabbed, Scotland Yard said.
• The pensioner, who suffered bruising to his arms

I thought murder was pre-meditated... so did the pensioner lure the burglars in with intent to kill one of them!!
If this charge stands then and the facts are as reported then all the stuff spouted by politicians a few years back about having the right to defend one's property was nonsense and it would appear on the face of it that the rights of the criminal come first. About time that criminal law principals followed civil law. i.e. the law cannot be applied to protect someone operating outside of it or engaged in illegal activity.

 

Standard procedure to arrest for murder. Charges if there are any will be far less. Unless there is something missing from the story if there are any charges the worlds gone madder than usual.

 

Is it though. The intruder was not found at the scene having fled and then found in a nearby street. The pensioner was initially charged with GBH and then the charge was upped to murder when the man died. I sincerely hope the pensioner is not being given a hard time by the Met's finest. he must be traumatised enough without all this.

 

He’s not been charged; he’s been arrested on suspicion of. It’s not the same thing

 

I suspect that if someone has died at the hands of another person it is standard procedure to arrest that person for murder whilst the matter is investigated. That seems sensible to me, it's if charges are brought that it starts to be worrying.

 

Fair comment.
Let's hope 'the truth will out' as they say.

 

This is a process. A man has died in violent circumstances and there has to be further investigation into that. The Police will gather evidence and, in due course submit a file to the CPS who will review the charges and decide which, if any to proceed with. They may decide it is not in the public interest to proceed at all. If a murder charge is brought then it would be for a court to decide whether relevant defences (most likely self-defence) apply. I think that for the Police to exclude any possible murder charge at this point would be to put themselves in the place of judge and jury, which is not their role. Yes - the 78 year old chap has faced a horrendous experience. Yes - on the face of it, it doesn't look as though he is the one who should face any prosecution or sanctions. But that all has to be properly worked through if we are not to become a lawless state. The older chap would otherwise have taken the law into his own hands. America shows the problems you can get into when any level of retaliation is permissible.

 

Yes that all makes sense. I originally had a senior moment when reading the news and made the OP before it was pointed out he had been 'arrested for' and not 'charged with' murder.
If it was not so serious and, if not for the fact that someone died, it would be quite funny in that a supposed 'hard man' in his prime, armed with a screwdriver managed to be overpowered by an unarmed 78 year old whilst his accomplice ran off without helping him (with mates like that who needs enemies) No honour amongst thieves it seems.

You have to be careful with media reports but, if it happened as described, I, for one, won't miss a low life who was prepared to threaten and attack a pensioner however 'disadvantaged' he might have been..