[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by blazey

I'm never going to agree that there should be one set of laws for one group of people and another for people we don't like.

That isn't what I would ask for, but there are often 'mitigating circumstances' which are, and should be, taken into account. No two cases are identical and some are more different than others.

For example a lorry driver fell asleep at the wheel, ran into another vehicle and killed someone. Should he be prosecuted? The initial reaction of most people would be "Of course he should!" - but he isn't going to be. The reason why is that he suffers from sleep apnoea and was unaware that he suffers from sleep apnoea. He may have 'dozed off' and woken up hundreds of times before and never even noticed. I know 2 people who do the same and they are totally unaware that they have ever been asleep.

This case of the woman and her flat shouldn't be affected by the fact that the absentee tenant is a rapist; but it should, in my opinion, be affected by the fact that the power was off in the flat and food was rotting, plus the fact that she did all she could to make sure his belongings were safe. Her actions were done without malice and I feel it should be viewed differently than for instance if she'd just chucked all his stuff in a skip.