Thread by @PShepka

The sentencing of a pedestrian for killing a cyclist who had angered her by riding on a pavement has caused much debate.

In light of the officer’s comments, I thought a brief thread of some facts from court might be helpful 🧵

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…

Firstly, Auriol Grey was convicted after a retrial.

A jury last summer could not come to a verdict, meaning a second jury had to be called last week. They came back with a guilty verdict within a few hours.

There remains confusion over whether this was a shared path. Both the police and council cannot definitively say, but the sentencing judge said it was. Part of that road certainly has a shared cycleway alongside.

The jury visited the site during the trial.

Unlike what has been sent out to the public (understandably given the nature of the video), the jury was played the unedited CCTV footage of the incident.

On a personal note, having been in court, it is a harrowing watch and my heart goes out to those at the scene.

The jury heard the defendant had cerebral palsy and was partially sighted.

As DS Mark Dollard says “a lot of medical records (and) professional expert evidence was sought and presented to a jury” who convicted her.

The judge said her “actions are not explained by disability”.

My thoughts remain with Celia Ward’s family, who showed dignity throughout the trial.

As DS Dollard said they will not “take any pleasure in the fact that a sentence was passed”.