Size apparently does matter...

I'm often amazed at some of the things judges fall for when they hear from barristers or solicitors in the courtroom, but this is a new one.

Express.

A PINT-SIZED thug has escaped jail amid fears he could be bullied.

Andrew Watson – who is just 4ft 11in – waded in to a mob attack on an innocent man he wrongly believed had assaulted a female friend.

Last night, victim campaigners reacted with horror that he was not imprisoned.

Watson twice kicked his victim in a melee in which the man was knocked to the ground and had £50 stolen from his wallet.

Watson, 26, denied the attack in Darlington, Co Durham, in July last year – but after learning there was CCTV footage, he claimed to have been trying to help the man.

But at Teesside Crown Court he admitted taking part. Lawyer Peter Sabiston told Judge Peter Bowers his client, a building site supervisor, was “fearful of custody and not the normal fear one sees from defendants”.

“He is only 4ft 11in and suffers bullying in the best of environments, let alone in a custodial setting,” he added.

Watson, of Shildon, Co Durham, was given 10 months in jail suspended for 18 months, ordered to do 150 hours’ work unpaid, pay £500 costs and £500 compensation and wear a curfew tag for four months.

Lyn Costello, co-founder of Mothers Against Murder And Aggression, said: “I’ve heard it all now – this is the weakest excuse not to send someone to prison. He wasn’t too short to beat somebody up. If we can’t trust judges to have common sense, then who can we trust?”

So, he's not too small to go into a melee and attack an innocent man, but apparently he is too small to go to prison in case he gets bullied. Clearly the judge hasn't heard of "short arse syndrome" it's an affliction seen in the vertically challenged whereby they make up for their lack of height by being totally over the top aggressive in the face of any situation. It's sort of akin to what car drivers do when they suddenly turn highly territorial when driving yet appear mild when not. Now Watson may fear being bullied, however that's no excuse not to be sent to prison for assault, clearly he has never heard of the maxim, "hate the time, don't do the crime" Yes there are financial penalties for him, however he'll be able to lead a fairly normal life, tagged or not, be able to drink, go places with few effects other than in the evening with his liberty.
In short (pun intended) he's gotten away with it and opened the door to any other shortarse who gets into a fight to use his excuse as theirs.