A man accused of robbing a Belfast lingerie shop at knifepoint has fallen back on a time honoured defence — namely, his claim that he believed he was a female elf at the time.
Belfast Crown Court was told by the prosecution that 45-year-old Robert Boyd from Broadlands, Carrickfergus had held up the shop, Orchid, while disguised in a wig, hat and sunglasses. He allegedly made off with bras, knickers, stockings and suspender belts.
However, Boyd's defence maintain that at the time, Boyd believed that he was a elf, having been playing the cyberpunk role-playing game Shadowrun.
I feel it is important to follow this news up with some very exciting news for the legal profession: Boyd was found guilty, but only by ten jurors.
So two people bought this defense. It looked unlikely, it looked incredibly stupid, but it was in fact only slightly stupid. It worked on two people — one sixth of a random sample of the population. It just needs a little bit of tweaking, and, next time, it could work.
Two. People.
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