Yesterday Alex, Nick, My partner and I, duly suited and groomed for pride’s sake, were driven to the court in Bournemouth to hear the sentencing of 18 year old Jason Teelin, who had, at the eleventh hour, changed his plea to guilty of Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent. The hearing was inBournemouthwhere Nick had lived and worked, and our lovely police liaison officer, Kim, stopped off at the beach for a few minutes on the way, so that Nick could see the beach he used to walk down every day and to see the sea once more. He had worked so hard to be able to move near the sea. 

With his customary determination and courage, he walked to the railings above the beach, with Alex and I on either side for support, and stood gazing at the waves for some time. He looked perfectly normal standing there… though a little out of place in his elegance. It was heart wrenching to see the difference as he walked to and from the car. Kim, used to dealing with the families of murder victims and called in to help us initially as this was thought to be a murder case, found the experience a little unreal, I think. She commented to Nick that it was a unique situation for her to meet and get to know her victims. 

We arrived at the court and settled in for the nerve wracking wait. 

The courtroom was arranged so that those, like ourselves, in the public gallery, would be unable to see the accused. This was kindly rearranged so that Nick and I could see Teelin when he finally arrived in the dock. 

Not a tall young man. Shaven headed like many young people these days, my own stepsons included. Stocky. He might have been fairly attractive in other circumstances. But the smirk on his face was all I could see. 

Perhaps that was nerves. He tried to stare me down, but barely looked at Nick and wouldn’t meet our eyes.

We then had the shocking and painful experience of listening to the Prosecuting Counsel outline the events of July 4^th. As Nick has no memory of events it was the first time we had heard the full story. 

Alex and my partner, in the public gallery, listened in hurt, anger and tears, while I, white knuckled, held onto Nick. Anger, pain, shock and despair were written all over my son’s face and shaking body and tears streamed helplessly down my face.

 Nick had left home at 01.05 in the morning to go to the Bournemouth Opera, a club some 50 yards from his home. He had called at an all night shop to buy some cigarettes, a few yards from his home. Half an hour previously Teelin and friends had tried to buy age limited products there. There had been an altercation with the staff and they had been asked to leave. They were still outside. 

Witnesses say that they asked Nick to buy cigarettes for them but he refused. Of a group of half a dozen, some of which were Teelin’s own family plus several independent witnesses, only one suggested that Nick was anything other than calm and polite. Statements said that Teelin had become aggressive, threatening to stab Nick with a screwdriver he had in his possession with the intention of ‘robbing a car’. He said he would kill Nick and this was reported by most of the witnesses. One stated that Teelin said he would stab Nick in the eye.  All agreed that Teelin’s attitude was out of all proportion to the context of the incident. 

The prosecution then described Nick as being ‘shepherded’ to Roumelia Lane, an alley just off the main street. According to the witness statements, Teelin, with the screwdriver held in his left first, came out of nowhere without warning and stabbed my son in the left temple. The blow itself was heard by a local resident from inside her flat. She then heard them run away. 

The screwdriver was described as a red handled, Philips type, about ten inches long, with a six inch blade about as thick as a pen. The blow was so hard that it caused a depressed fracture of the skull, as well as the penetrating wound which tracked down towards the centre of the brain and the brainstem. Nick hit the ground in a coma.

Within seconds some strangers passing by were calling the police and ambulance and giving my some first aid until the paramedics arrived. They almost certainly saved Nick’s life. 

Counsel then described the harrowing weeks in theWessexatSouthamptonup to the point where, she said baldly, life support was switched off while a coroner waited ready for the next steps. 

But Nick held on to life. 

She played a short part of the video impact statement Nick had made in rehab. I remember being so proud of him then! He spoke with honesty and dignity. The mere fact that he could speak at all a miracle when just a few weeks previously all his communication had been laboriously spelled out on an alphabet board with an uncertain hand. Yet to see him again at that stage, where his face and eyes were far from normality, where his body was nearly useless, where his speech was thick, slurred and laboured broke my heart. And Nick’s. My partner was in tears in the gallery. Alex’s face looked like he was in hell. 

Teelin just smirked.

We listened to the medical updates and reports which say that Nick will never walk again or lead the normal life he is fighting for. Reports which stressed the enormity of the task he faces as the medical profession have always said that normality was beyond Nick’s reach. 

My lap was covered in shredded, screwed up wet tissue, stark against the black dress. My other hand gripped Nick’s, feeling the shaking tension in his body that was mirrored by the despair and grief in his face. I think no-one in the court was unmoved. 

Counsel then read some extracts from letters I have written, illustrating the impact this has had on our entire family. The fact that we have lost everything because of the financial struggle for survival, the damage to our physical and mental health, the stark reality of fractured relationships, all were laid before the court. The lost employment, the sale of everything saleable that we own, the descent from decency to desperation, all these things were publicly aired. 

We then had to listen to Defence Counsel. He too, even he, first stressed the enormity of the injury and the severity of the attack and spoke of the miracle of Nick’s survival and recovery. All who touched on that subject yesterday were, I think, moved by Nick’s gallantry and determination. 

Defence then did the job he is paid to do, minimising the offence, attempting to extenuate the circumstances. Throwing doubt over Teelin’s sanity, saying that Teelin believed himself to be schizophrenic and citing reports taken from previous offences. The young man, it seems, in spite of his age, has a long criminal history. Violent episodes were cited, including armed violence, assault and even incidents whilst he has been on remand. Clemency was requested because of this history and Teelin’s age, as well as the last minute plea of guilty. We were told that Teelin’s mother had been to the previous hearings and shown how much hardship and financial stress these visits had caused her. 

The Judge then had to deliver sentence. He said Teelin would remain seated and listen to what he had to say to him before standing for sentence. 

Our hopes began to rise as the Judge told Teelin that in his opinion the attack had contained an element of premeditation, due to the threats to kill Nick and the distance both in time and geography between the initial encounter and the attack itself. That Nick had been ‘left for dead’ as witnesses stated and believed compounded the situation. 

However, under the terms of law, the Judge was unable to classify the offender as ‘dangerous’ and so was unable to pass an indeterminate sentence. 

Teelin stood and was informed that he was being given a seven year prison sentence. For us, even though we were aware that the hands of the law are tied by guidelines, even knowing that the possibilities the Judge could impose were limited, this was appalling. We then heard the Judge say that of the seven years, Teelin would serve half of that period in prison and half on licence. We were further crushed to hear that the time in remand would be deducted and as remand time is generally regarded as harder than prison time, due to the possibility of holding an innocent man in that time, Teelin has only about two and a half years left to serve. 

We were devastated, shocked and utterly crushed.  

Teelin walked out of the courtroom, on his own two feet, knowing that if he behaves he will be home in time for his 21^st birthday celebrations. 

Nick had to wait to be wheeled outside. He could not walk away. He may never be able to do so. 

Courts administer the Law. They cannot mete out Justice. But what Teelin failed to accomplish that night, the Law may have succeeded in doing to my son.