Story Archive

Life Penalty

Authorities convinced a Doncaster, England, woman to not kill herself: she had been threatening to jump in front of an oncoming train. Once that was accomplished, they prosecuted her for causing “a nuisance.” The prosecutor said Gillian Fairgreave, 42, had delayed road and rail traffic on various occasions while threatening to harm herself, which cost the railroad money due to delayed trains. At the time of her latest incident, she was already serving a suspended sentence for previous ones. Judge Recorder Caroline Wigin gave her a 10-month suspended sentence. “If you do this again,” said the judge, “the next court you come in front of may impose the full 10-month sentence.” (AC/Doncaster Free Press) ...So remember: next time you consider “harming” yourself, if you don’t actually kill yourself, we might actually put you in jail.