Latest news with #PaulStephenson
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man found guilty of murder in DUI crash that killed US Air Force lieutenant colonel
DENVER (KDVR) — Paul Stephenson was found guilty of murder after hitting and killing a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel while driving under the influence. On Monday, a jury in the Douglas County Court found Stephenson guilty of murder in the first degree — extreme indifference. He was also found guilty of criminal attempted murder against the victim's spouse and children, along with several other charges. Stephenson's sentencing is set for July 3 at 1:30 p.m. The charges stem from the summer of 2024 when a truck crashed into the gas pumps at a 7-Eleven in Castle Rock and killed 38-year-old Air Force Lt. Col. Matthew Anderson. He was filling up gas at the pump with his family in the car during the time of the crash. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Records show Stephenson had stated he had been drinking beer and a pint of Fireball Whisky before the crash. During the trial, Stephenson testified that he did not remember the crash and knew it was wrong to drink and drive. The jury went into deliberation on Thursday and came to a verdict on Monday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
Jury deliberating in case of man accused of DUI, killing US Air Force lieutenant colonel
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (KDVR) — It was last summer when a truck crashed into the gas pumps at a 7-Eleven in Castle Rock and killed a member of the Air Force. The store is located on East Plum Creek Parkway. A police affidavit states a pickup truck crashed into the gas pumps on Aug. 4, 2024, at 2:22 p.m. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox That truck hit another vehicle and a man who had just parked at a pump and was putting gasoline in his Sequoia SUV. Court records show 56-year-old Paul Stephenson was driving the truck that went out of control. The Douglas County District Attorney's office says 38-year-old Air Force Lt. Col. Matthew Anderson from Centennial was killed. His family was inside the SUV at the time. Records show Stephenson had stated he had been drinking beer and a pint of Fireball Whisky before the crash. Police said video cameras captured the truck moving recklessly and at a high rate of speed. Stephenson took the stand at the Douglas County Courthouse Thursday, testifying that he did not remember the crash and that he knew it was wrong to drink and drive. Closing arguments started late Thursday afternoon, where both state prosecutors and Stephenson's defense attorney spoke about what happened on the day of the crash. 'And that conduct begins from the moment this guy climbs into that truck having drank a pint of whiskey and two Bud Lights and puts himself on those roads. And then at the perfect moment, for him and the worst moment for everyone else, he turns, accelerates and plows right into that crowded gas station,' 23rd Judicial District DA George Brauchler said. 12-year-old girl dies a week after deadly Thornton motorcycle crash 'Something happened to him to make that vehicle go into that 7-Eleven parking lot. There's no indoor camera there, so we don't know exactly how, but something did. That's not the way he drives,' Defense Attorney Mike Mitchell said. Several members of the Air Force dressed in blue military uniforms were in the courtroom for the closing arguments. Anderson's wife, father and other family members were also present. The jury deliberated for an hour and a half and is scheduled to resume deliberations on Monday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A day inside Britain's ‘embarrassing' court system (with the country's former top policeman)
It doesn't take long for Sir Paul Stephenson, once the most powerful police officer in the country, to despair. We are 55 minutes into proceedings inside court seven at Westminster Magistrates' Court, when it's clear sentencing for the second case of the day can't go ahead. The probation officer tasked with writing a pre-sentencing report went on holiday and nobody bothered to tell anyone, prompting the presiding magistrate to apologise to the convicted criminal for his wasted £150 round trip from Birmingham. 'He is the one who has pleaded guilty and she is the one apologising,' says Stephenson, formerly commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. The exchange is, he says, a 'humiliation' and a 'reversal' of what should happen in a court when a judge confronts a convicted criminal. The day doesn't get any better. Out of 14 cases listed for sentencing, just four defendants get their comeuppance. The rest comprise no shows – either of the criminals or of the necessary bits of paper and information needed to mete out justice. At a low ebb, Stephenson, 72, the one-time deputy chief constable of Lancashire and former Met Commissioner, describes the proceedings as a 'celebration of chaos' and wonders if public money is being well spent. Official figures show a criminal court system in crisis. The backlog in the Crown courts has hit a record high of almost 75,000 cases (almost double the number five years ago) while in the lower, magistrates' courts, the backlog is close to a third of a million. The official figures encouraged The Telegraph to go back to court to see the system at work. Stephenson and The Telegraph had performed the exercise at Westminster Magistrates once before, back in 2012, when his verdict then was that 'he had seen nothing to show that the courts are anything other than slow, bureaucratic and hugely frustrating'. More than a decade on – after further funding cuts and the long tail of Covid lockdowns, there's no happy ending. 'Isn't it embarrassing that so many years after we first did this, the system has actually got worse,' he says. The doors to court seven open on time, and the presiding magistrate, Sneha Kooros troops in, flanked by Christopher Denny and Kanaya Aro, the two other magistrates who will sit in judgment. The court clerk tells them the Probation Service officer hasn't yet arrived. The magistrates ask her, 'Do you want us to come back at quarter past?' and then troop straight back out. Stephenson shakes his head. 'Why wouldn't probation be here on time?' he wonders out loud. The day has not got off to a good start. After a false start, we are back on. But due to staff shortages, there's no list caller, the court official whose job is to manage the schedule and make sure defendants and others are there on time. There are 14 defendants on today's list for sentencing, and magistrates, clerk, prosecutor and probation officials start going through the list to see who has turned up and what sentencing reports are ready. 'People don't turn up. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't,' one court official tells me with a shrug. Stephenson is exasperated. Already. 'This has been a thorough disaster [of a start],' he says. 'It is all very friendly and relaxed but it doesn't strike me as an efficient justice system.' Serenada Caldararu is either 19 or 22, has five aliases and has been in the UK for either a few months or some years. An interpreter is on hand to explain to the defendant what's going on. Guilty of theft, her sentencing can't go ahead because no pre-sentence report has been prepared. Caldararu, from Romania and living in east London, had not received any calls from probation after she lost her phone 'some weeks ago' and the probation appointment letter went to an old address. And anyway, she can't read, the court hears. The magistrates want more information before pressing ahead with sentencing. The case is adjourned for three weeks to May 14 for another attempt at sentencing. Stephenson says: 'This is a celebration of chaos, isn't it?' The magistrate, however, 'is doing her best'. Arfan Ali, a father-of-four and factory worker, has spent £150 on a peak train ticket from Birmingham to attend his sentencing for two counts of racial or religiously aggravated harassment over an incident at Euston station in August last year and then at Holborn police station following his arrest. But the probation officer who was supposed to write his pre-sentencing report is on holiday and didn't produce it in time, and didn't inform the court, the defendant, or his lawyers. 'Mr Ali has come from Birmingham and has spent £150 to get here, and he is upset and I am upset on his behalf that probation has not produced a report,' says his lawyer, Theresa Hendrickx. Kooros tells him: 'I can only apologise on behalf of the court… I know it's incredibly frustrating, and you have spent time and money to come here today.' The case is adjourned until May 14 for another go at sentencing. Stephenson says: 'The inefficiency is shocking … the humiliation of the magistrate who is spending her time apologising to people who she is supposed to be sentencing. He is the one who has pleaded guilty, and she is the one apologising. It is a reversal of what should be happening.' David Gilligan, 60, from east London, has turned up to court, but there's no probation report into his drinking and his sentencing won't go ahead as planned. Gilligan has pleaded guilty to the assault of two paramedics in August last year. Eight months on, there will be no progress today. His lawyer, Stuart Harris, who has represented Gilligan 'for a long time', tells the court: 'Mr Gilligan has made it clear he has not had any contact with probation. He has changed his phone, but that was only last week.' Kooros adjourns the case for four weeks, until May 15, acknowledging there has been a 'bit of toing and froing between parties here'. Stephenson says: 'It's a bit depressing that the most efficient part of this court is the ability of the clerk to reschedule the hearings. She is wholly practised at it. It is mostly tied up in probation's inability to provide a service to the court. I am surprised by the magistrate's patience. You don't get the sense from the magistrates that they are at all surprised or unusually frustrated.' Spencer Manzeku, 46, from Croydon, terrorised a young woman on a late-night train from Northampton back to London Euston in January this year, shouting at her and then following her onto another carriage after she tried to get away. He screamed at her: 'You are a bully,' and pointed in the faces of the woman and her friends. The incident went on for an hour. 'This was sustained. Her friends were scared and so was she,' prosecutor Gillian Huston tells the court. Manzeku was drunk and at the time on a community order, which remains unfinished. His lawyer Kate Nichols says her client suffered from PTSD – diagnosed three years ago – from his time in Zimbabwe and was full of remorse. The magistrates declined to sentence Manzeku without more information from the Probation Service on his mental health and his drinking, and adjourned the case until May 15. It is now 90 minutes into what was intended to be a day of sentencing, and no one has been sentenced. 'This is a very distressing experience for the victim,' says Stephenson. 'This is a court system predicated on delays. It doesn't make sense. At the moment, this is more of an exercise in futility.' Ishmael Simms, 30, and a lorry driver from south-east London, had admitted assault after trying to get on a train without paying at North Greenwich train station in broad daylight in August last year. He called the guard 'pussy' and screamed abuse so close he was spitting in his face, which constitutes an offence of assault. He has no lawyer, but from the dock protests that the prosecution's claims have been 'fabricated'. It's too late for that and the magistrates retire to consider a sentence. An actual sentence. Simms is ordered to pay £749, including £200 compensation and a £350 fine. It is now 12.15pm, two and a quarter hours in. 'It is very unfortunate,' Kooros tells Simms. Stephenson says: 'The fine is the right sentence. But it is not unfortunate. It is offensive.' The next one up for sentencing is Omar Kudamorad, who has been found guilty of four crimes, including possession of a bladed weapon, using violence to enter a building and possession of cocaine over an incident in west London in February. It is unclear what contact he has had with the Probation Service, and the officer can't be found. 'Can somebody please get Probation for us?' pleads the presiding magistrate before eventually issuing a warrant for Kudamorad's arrest. Mark Burns, who has stolen a metal ramp from a Waitrose in west London, is another no-show. 'Mr Burns, unfortunately, never attends court. He never cooperates and he never turns up,' his lawyer tells the magistrates. Another warrant is issued for his arrest. Nor does Daleth Webster, a homeless man convicted of burglary at an office in central London in June last year, make an appearance. Another warrant is issued. It's now lunch and at the end of a morning session in the sentencing court, just one criminal has been fully dealt with from a morning list of eight people. That includes three no-shows. Stephenson says: 'It is chaotic. These are chaotic people, but I find this so frustrating. This is an attempt to problem solve, but they are not following any problem-solving mechanism you would recognise.' Ricky Mahoney, 39, from east London, was arrested in October last year when driving under the influence of cannabis and subsequently pleaded guilty to driving offences and obstruction of a police officer. But when he last appeared in court, he couldn't recall his phone number and probation officers had no pre-sentence reports ready for him. The case is adjourned until May 15. It seems that there was never any chance of Mahoney being sentenced today. 'This is a fantasy listing,' says Stephenson. Daniel Olds, a 50-year-old chef from south London with a drinking problem, exposed himself to a young woman on her way to work on an early morning train from Purley in Surrey to King's Cross. The incident, which took place in May last year, left the victim feeling 'nervous', 'unsafe', 'disgusted' and 'extremely violated'. The magistrates ban Olds from sitting immediately next to or opposite lone women on trains and place him on the sex offenders' register for five years. Stephenson says: 'The most efficient and effective work on that case came from the defendant's lawyer. She was on top of her brief. She knew the options. She had all the facts about her client and helped the court.' Yasmin Christie, a 22-year-old from east London, is in the dock for sentencing for three charges of assault by beating of emergency workers. But probation reports, which were asked for on March 17 – are not ready. The magistrate tells Christie that is 'unfortunate' and tells her to come back on May 15 to try again. 'It's more than unfortunate,' says Stephenson. 'The magistrate should be angry. You would be asking for an explanation. It's not unfortunate, it's worse than that. This is public money.' Clad in a balaclava, Amir Elkayam, 48, who served in the Israel Defence Forces before moving to the UK in 1999, drove his quad bike on a pavement in March this year and then on the same day destroyed security cameras that overlooked his flat, using a crowbar. His lawyer tells the court her client had become 'completely paranoid' about cameras that overlooked his flat. A handyman earning £50,000 a year, Elkayam is banned from driving for six months, ordered to pay £500 compensation for damage caused to the cameras, and ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid community service. Stephenson says: 'At least they dealt with it. It's the right outcome.' There's no sign of Kyle Farr, and his lawyer has no clue as to his whereabouts. He has been convicted of a racially aggravated common assault that took place in May last year and six further offences, including assault in March this year. But then the clerk finds a note of a telephone call from Farr's family informing the court that 'he was stabbed 16 times and had his throat slashed and is in intensive care'. Kooros accepts 'this is not ideal' and sets a new sentencing date for the end of May, provided Farr's family can provide written proof of his injuries. Stephenson hopes that 'the court confirms this is true' and, if not, that 'there is a commensurate addition to any sentence he receives'. Court work grinds to a halt. There's one case left, but the defendant's lawyer is on her feet in another court and wanted after that for a client in a third court before she can get to court seven. During the lull, Kooros asks Stephenson, who has been sitting at the back of the court, what he makes of what he has seen so far. It's unusual for such an exchange to take place. Stephenson suggests the magistrates are not being served as well as they might be. 'We try our best in the interest of justice and especially for the defendants,' Kooros tells him from the bench, adding: 'With all fairness to the court staff, we work together and we do what we can.' Stephenson tells her: 'I completely understand. I was fairly familiar with the court system many years ago. The whole system should be set up with resources to allow the bench to dispense justice. I cannot say I always saw that happening.' Kooros, whose work is unpaid, told him it was a 'question of money and budget'. One probation worker later tells me confidentially that there are a 'lot of moving parts in the court system except that many of them don't move'. With the lawyer found, court seven gets to the final case of the day. Steward Mahenge, 20, who works in the music industry, hired an e-bike and then used it to snatch a mobile phone from a businessman outside a hotel near Bond Street late at night in February. The court heard the theft was premeditated and planned. A probation officer, who interviewed Mahenge earlier in the day, tells the court he was 'trying to understand' why Mahenge, who had no previous convictions and is a gifted musician, carried out the crime. The magistrates sentence Mahenge to 100 hours of unpaid community work and up to 15 days' rehabilitation activity requirement – known as RAR – designed to reduce the risk of reoffending. It is 6.10pm. The day's work is complete. Stephenson concludes: 'Isn't it embarrassing that so many years after we first did this, the system has actually got worse? We had 14 cases listed for sentencing and yet just four have gone ahead, and the rest will have to come back. The question is: is that a good use of public money? I'm not so sure.' Additional reporting: Isabella Machin Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
A day inside Britain's ‘embarrassing' court system (with the country's former top policeman)
It doesn't take long for Sir Paul Stephenson, once the most powerful police officer in the country, to despair. We are 55 minutes into proceedings inside court seven at Westminster Magistrates' Court, when it's clear sentencing for the second case of the day can't go ahead. The probation officer tasked with writing a pre-sentencing report went on holiday and nobody bothered to tell anyone, prompting the presiding magistrate to apologise to the convicted criminal for his wasted £150 round trip from Birmingham. 'He is the one who has pleaded guilty and she is the one apologising,' says Stephenson, formerly commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. The exchange is, he says, a 'humiliation' and a 'reversal' of what should happen in a court when a judge confronts a convicted criminal. The day doesn't get any better. Out of 14 cases listed for sentencing, just four defendants get their comeuppance. The rest comprise no shows – either of the criminals or of the necessary bits of paper and information needed to mete out justice. At a low ebb, Stephenson, 72, the one-time deputy chief constable of Lancashire and former Met Commissioner, describes the proceedings as a 'celebration of chaos' and wonders if public money is being well spent. Official figures show a criminal court system in crisis. The backlog in the Crown courts has hit a record high of almost 75,000 cases (almost double the number five years ago) while in the lower, magistrates' courts, the backlog is close to a third of a million. The official figures encouraged The Telegraph to go back to court to see the system at work. Stephenson and The Telegraph had performed the exercise at Westminster Magistrates once before, back in 2012, when his verdict then was that 'he had seen nothing to show that the courts are anything other than slow, bureaucratic and hugely frustrating'. More than a decade on – after further funding cuts and the long tail of Covid lockdowns, there's no happy ending. 'Isn't it embarrassing that so many years after we first did this, the system has actually got worse,' he says. 10am: Waiting for the Probation Service The doors to court seven open on time, and the presiding magistrate, Sneha Kooros troops in, flanked by Christopher Denny and Kanaya Aro, the two other magistrates who will sit in judgment. The court clerk tells them the Probation Service officer hasn't yet arrived. The magistrates ask her, 'Do you want us to come back at quarter past?' and then troop straight back out. Stephenson shakes his head. 'Why wouldn't probation be here on time?' he wonders out loud. The day has not got off to a good start. 10.20am: There's no list caller After a false start, we are back on. But due to staff shortages, there's no list caller, the court official whose job is to manage the schedule and make sure defendants and others are there on time. There are 14 defendants on today's list for sentencing, and magistrates, clerk, prosecutor and probation officials start going through the list to see who has turned up and what sentencing reports are ready. 'People don't turn up. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't,' one court official tells me with a shrug. Stephenson is exasperated. Already. 'This has been a thorough disaster [of a start],' he says. 'It is all very friendly and relaxed but it doesn't strike me as an efficient justice system.' 10.30am: The Romanian thief Serenada Caldararu is either 19 or 22, has five aliases and has been in the UK for either a few months or some years. An interpreter is on hand to explain to the defendant what's going on. Guilty of theft, her sentencing can't go ahead because no pre-sentence report has been prepared. Caldararu, from Romania and living in east London, had not received any calls from probation after she lost her phone 'some weeks ago' and the probation appointment letter went to an old address. And anyway, she can't read, the court hears. The magistrates want more information before pressing ahead with sentencing. The case is adjourned for three weeks to May 14 for another attempt at sentencing. Stephenson says: 'This is a celebration of chaos, isn't it?' The magistrate, however, 'is doing her best'. 10.55am: The £150 wasted train trip Arfan Ali, a father-of-four and factory worker, has spent £150 on a peak train ticket from Birmingham to attend his sentencing for two counts of racial or religiously aggravated harassment over an incident at Euston station in August last year and then at Holborn police station following his arrest. But the probation officer who was supposed to write his pre-sentencing report is on holiday and didn't produce it in time, and didn't inform the court, the defendant, or his lawyers. 'Mr Ali has come from Birmingham and has spent £150 to get here, and he is upset and I am upset on his behalf that probation has not produced a report,' says his lawyer, Theresa Hendrickx. Kooros tells him: 'I can only apologise on behalf of the court… I know it's incredibly frustrating, and you have spent time and money to come here today.' The case is adjourned until May 14 for another go at sentencing. Stephenson says: 'The inefficiency is shocking … the humiliation of the magistrate who is spending her time apologising to people who she is supposed to be sentencing. He is the one who has pleaded guilty, and she is the one apologising. It is a reversal of what should be happening.' 11.05am: The Army vet and the missing probation report David Gilligan, 60, from east London, has turned up to court, but there's no probation report into his drinking and his sentencing won't go ahead as planned. Gilligan has pleaded guilty to the assault of two paramedics in August last year. Eight months on, there will be no progress today. His lawyer, Stuart Harris, who has represented Gilligan 'for a long time', tells the court: 'Mr Gilligan has made it clear he has not had any contact with probation. He has changed his phone, but that was only last week.' Kooros adjourns the case for four weeks, until May 15, acknowledging there has been a 'bit of toing and froing between parties here'. Stephenson says: 'It's a bit depressing that the most efficient part of this court is the ability of the clerk to reschedule the hearings. She is wholly practised at it. It is mostly tied up in probation's inability to provide a service to the court. I am surprised by the magistrate's patience. You don't get the sense from the magistrates that they are at all surprised or unusually frustrated.' 11.10am: The Zimbabwean refugee and the terrorised woman on a train Spencer Manzeku, 46, from Croydon, terrorised a young woman on a late-night train from Northampton back to London Euston in January this year, shouting at her and then following her onto another carriage after she tried to get away. He screamed at her: 'You are a bully,' and pointed in the faces of the woman and her friends. The incident went on for an hour. 'This was sustained. Her friends were scared and so was she,' prosecutor Gillian Huston tells the court. Manzeku was drunk and at the time on a community order, which remains unfinished. His lawyer Kate Nichols says her client suffered from PTSD – diagnosed three years ago – from his time in Zimbabwe and was full of remorse. The magistrates declined to sentence Manzeku without more information from the Probation Service on his mental health and his drinking, and adjourned the case until May 15. It is now 90 minutes into what was intended to be a day of sentencing, and no one has been sentenced. 'This is a very distressing experience for the victim,' says Stephenson. 'This is a court system predicated on delays. It doesn't make sense. At the moment, this is more of an exercise in futility.' 11.35am: The lorry driver spitting at a London Underground worker Ishmael Simms, 30, and a lorry driver from south-east London, had admitted assault after trying to get on a train without paying at North Greenwich train station in broad daylight in August last year. He called the guard 'pussy' and screamed abuse so close he was spitting in his face, which constitutes an offence of assault. He has no lawyer, but from the dock protests that the prosecution's claims have been 'fabricated'. It's too late for that and the magistrates retire to consider a sentence. An actual sentence. Simms is ordered to pay £749, including £200 compensation and a £350 fine. It is now 12.15pm, two and a quarter hours in. 'It is very unfortunate,' Kooros tells Simms. Stephenson says: 'The fine is the right sentence. But it is not unfortunate. It is offensive.' 12.30pm: The no-shows and the missing probation officer The next one up for sentencing is Omar Kudamorad, who has been found guilty of four crimes, including possession of a bladed weapon, using violence to enter a building and possession of cocaine over an incident in west London in February. It is unclear what contact he has had with the Probation Service, and the officer can't be found. 'Can somebody please get Probation for us?' pleads the presiding magistrate before eventually issuing a warrant for Kudamorad's arrest. Mark Burns, who has stolen a metal ramp from a Waitrose in west London, is another no-show. 'Mr Burns, unfortunately, never attends court. He never cooperates and he never turns up,' his lawyer tells the magistrates. Another warrant is issued for his arrest. Nor does Daleth Webster, a homeless man convicted of burglary at an office in central London in June last year, make an appearance. Another warrant is issued. It's now lunch and at the end of a morning session in the sentencing court, just one criminal has been fully dealt with from a morning list of eight people. That includes three no-shows. Stephenson says: 'It is chaotic. These are chaotic people, but I find this so frustrating. This is an attempt to problem solve, but they are not following any problem-solving mechanism you would recognise.' 2.15pm: The 'fantasy listing' Ricky Mahoney, 39, from east London, was arrested in October last year when driving under the influence of cannabis and subsequently pleaded guilty to driving offences and obstruction of a police officer. But when he last appeared in court, he couldn't recall his phone number and probation officers had no pre-sentence reports ready for him. The case is adjourned until May 15. It seems that there was never any chance of Mahoney being sentenced today. 'This is a fantasy listing,' says Stephenson. 2.25pm: The flasher on the morning commute Daniel Olds, a 50-year-old chef from south London with a drinking problem, exposed himself to a young woman on her way to work on an early morning train from Purley in Surrey to King's Cross. The incident, which took place in May last year, left the victim feeling 'nervous', 'unsafe', 'disgusted' and 'extremely violated'. The magistrates ban Olds from sitting immediately next to or opposite lone women on trains and place him on the sex offenders' register for five years. Stephenson says: 'The most efficient and effective work on that case came from the defendant's lawyer. She was on top of her brief. She knew the options. She had all the facts about her client and helped the court.' 3.30pm: The young woman who attacked emergency workers Yasmin Christie, a 22-year-old from east London, is in the dock for sentencing for three charges of assault by beating of emergency workers. But probation reports, which were asked for on March 17 – are not ready. The magistrate tells Christie that is 'unfortunate' and tells her to come back on May 15 to try again. 'It's more than unfortunate,' says Stephenson. 'The magistrate should be angry. You would be asking for an explanation. It's not unfortunate, it's worse than that. This is public money.' 3.50pm: The ex-Israeli soldier going berserk with a crowbar Clad in a balaclava, Amir Elkayam, 48, who served in the Israel Defence Forces before moving to the UK in 1999, drove his quad bike on a pavement in March this year and then on the same day destroyed security cameras that overlooked his flat, using a crowbar. His lawyer tells the court her client had become 'completely paranoid' about cameras that overlooked his flat. A handyman earning £50,000 a year, Elkayam is banned from driving for six months, ordered to pay £500 compensation for damage caused to the cameras, and ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid community service. Stephenson says: 'At least they dealt with it. It's the right outcome.' 4.30pm: The defendant in intensive care after having his throat slashed There's no sign of Kyle Farr, and his lawyer has no clue as to his whereabouts. He has been convicted of a racially aggravated common assault that took place in May last year and six further offences, including assault in March this year. But then the clerk finds a note of a telephone call from Farr's family informing the court that 'he was stabbed 16 times and had his throat slashed and is in intensive care'. Kooros accepts 'this is not ideal' and sets a new sentencing date for the end of May, provided Farr's family can provide written proof of his injuries. Stephenson hopes that 'the court confirms this is true' and, if not, that 'there is a commensurate addition to any sentence he receives'. 5pm: One of our lawyers is missing Court work grinds to a halt. There's one case left, but the defendant's lawyer is on her feet in another court and wanted after that for a client in a third court before she can get to court seven. During the lull, Kooros asks Stephenson, who has been sitting at the back of the court, what he makes of what he has seen so far. It's unusual for such an exchange to take place. Stephenson suggests the magistrates are not being served as well as they might be. 'We try our best in the interest of justice and especially for the defendants,' Kooros tells him from the bench, adding: 'With all fairness to the court staff, we work together and we do what we can.' Stephenson tells her: 'I completely understand. I was fairly familiar with the court system many years ago. The whole system should be set up with resources to allow the bench to dispense justice. I cannot say I always saw that happening.' Kooros, whose work is unpaid, told him it was a 'question of money and budget'. One probation worker later tells me confidentially that there are a 'lot of moving parts in the court system except that many of them don't move'. 5.50pm: The mobile phone thief escaping jail With the lawyer found, court seven gets to the final case of the day. Steward Mahenge, 20, who works in the music industry, hired an e-bike and then used it to snatch a mobile phone from a businessman outside a hotel near Bond Street late at night in February. The court heard the theft was premeditated and planned. A probation officer, who interviewed Mahenge earlier in the day, tells the court he was 'trying to understand' why Mahenge, who had no previous convictions and is a gifted musician, carried out the crime. The magistrates sentence Mahenge to 100 hours of unpaid community work and up to 15 days' rehabilitation activity requirement – known as RAR – designed to reduce the risk of reoffending. It is 6.10pm. The day's work is complete. Stephenson concludes: 'Isn't it embarrassing that so many years after we first did this, the system has actually got worse? We had 14 cases listed for sentencing and yet just four have gone ahead, and the rest will have to come back. The question is: is that a good use of public money? I'm not so sure.'
BBC News
31-01-2025
- General
- BBC News
Dr Paul Stephenson: Civil rights leader's life in pictures
Bristol will remember the life and achievements of one of the UK's leading civil rights campaigners during a cathedral service Paul Stephenson, who led the Bristol Bus Boycott and helped pave the way for the Race Relations Act in the 1960s, died in November aged 87. From humble beginnings in the East of England, Dr Stephenson became known nationwide through his campaigns, and forged relationships with some of the most famous figures of the 20th Century. Ahead of a service marking his extraordinary life's work at Bristol Cathedral on Friday, his daughter Fumi Stephenson has shared a selection of family photos telling his story. During World War Two, Dr Stephenson was evacuated to Essex, where he was taken in by foster mother Ma Fisk. She became "a beloved guardian", Ms Stephenson told the BBC, who her father spoke about with "great affection". Ms Stephenson said education "became both a battleground and a beacon of hope" for her father, adding that he was "determined" to disprove people who underestimated him because of his race. "He often spoke about teachers who discouraged him from aspiring beyond manual labour, yet he refused to accept their limitations," she said. "Looking back, I see how my father's childhood shaped him into the leader he became. His story is one of resilience, courage, and a relentless pursuit of justice." Dr Stephenson and his wife Joyce married within a year of meeting, a connection their daughter attributed to a "shared vision for life". They remained together until Mrs Stephenson's death in 2019, a "partnership" - Ms Stephenson said - was "not just of romance, but of purpose". Dr Stephenson was one of the leading figures of the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, a sixty-day campaign which began after a young black man was refused an interview for a job on the city's buses because of his race. The ensuing protest attracted nationwide attention and was instrumental in paving the way for the country's first Race Relations Act in 1965. The picture above from a BBC interview with Dr Stephenson just after the campaign's victory, in which he said he was "very pleased indeed" that the Bristol Omnibus Company had dropped its discriminatory hiring policy. While he would return to Bristol decades later, Dr Stephenson left the city in the 1960s - first for Coventry and later London. While away he became involved with a number of community initiatives, including setting up a school music award with acclaimed jazz singer and actress Cleo picture above shows Dr Stephenson and Mrs Stephenson (second and third left) with Ms Laine (second right) and her late husband, fellow jazz musician and composer John Dankworth (third right), who were described by Ms Stephenson as fellow "influential figures in the fight for racial equality". While in London, Dr Stephenson also forged a relationship with one of the most famous figures of the 20th Century, boxer Muhammad Ali."Their story began in dramatic fashion," Ms Stephenson said. "As Ali was preparing to board his flight back to America, my father ran after him, calling out to him as Muhammad Ali rather than his former name, Cassius Clay. "That moment caught Ali's attention, and from there, they began a conversation that would lead to both a personal and professional relationship." This chance meeting eventually led the pair to co-found the Muhammad Ali Sports Development Association (MASDA) in Brixton, which was set up to create opportunities for young black people. Dr Stephenson's wide network also included a decades-long friendship with the Labour politician and former cabinet minister Tony Benn, who supported many of his Mr Benn as a "grandfatherly figure", Ms Stephenson said: "Even as he grew older and his health declined, Tony continued to board the train from London to Bristol, determined to attend as many of my father's events as he could. "His presence was a reminder that solidarity requires action, not just words. He didn't just support my father's causes from a distance - he showed up, time and time again." In 2009, Dr Stephenson was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II, an honour his daughter described as being of "immense pride" for their entire family. "That day was not just about an award - it was about the decades of perseverance, sacrifice, and change that my father had fought for," she said. Back in Bristol, Dr Stephenson remained close friends with Tony and Lalel Bullimore, who founded the iconic Bamboo Club in St Pauls - described by Ms Stephenson as "one of the first multi-racial music venues of its time". Mr Bullimore went on to gain worldwide fame in the 1990s when he survived for four days in the upturned hull of his boat, which capsized during a solo round-the-word race. "The connection between my father, Paul, and Tony Bullimore was immediate and undeniable," Ms Stephenson said. "They became close friends, sharing not only a love of music but also a vision for a world where people from all walks of life could come together."Their friendship lives on in me, and I carry the memories of those days with great pride and gratitude."
