A Cape judge has lambasted the testimony of a criminologist – testifying on behalf of convicted murderer Jacob Humphreys.
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A Cape judge has lambasted the testimony of a criminologist – testifying on behalf of convicted murderer Jacob Humphreys – saying she based her findings on a rejected version of events.
Claire Wolff, who compiled a report for Humphreys’s mitigation of sentence, said it was not a typical murder and she did not believe he should be “sacrificed” when being sentenced.
But Western Cape High Court Judge Robert Henney tore into her testimony, saying she had based the findings of her report on Humphreys’s version of events, which he had discounted in his judgment. Humphreys claims he can’t remember the fatal Blackheath crash, in which 10 schoolchildren were killed while he was behind the wheel.
He was driving a taxi full of children to school in August, 2010 when he overtook a row of cars waiting at the Buttskop railway crossing and ignored a lowered boom.
The taxi was hit by an oncoming train.
Judge Henney found him guilty of 10 counts of murder and four of attempted murder in December.
During sentencing proceedings yesterday, Wolff said she was uncertain what Humphreys’s motivation was for taking the risk because he could not remember what had happened. He had also not changed his version about the memory loss.
Wolff, however, believed Humphreys was “genuinely remorseful” for his crime.
But Judge Henney questioned Humphreys’s remorse since he was sticking to the version that he could not remember the crash.
He said in his judgment that he had rejected Humphreys’s claims as “selective and convenient”, and nothing but “a desperate attempt by someone who has realised he has done something terrible and does not want to take responsibility for it”.
“He’s in denial; that is the difficulty and now he persists with his version,” said Judge Henney.
The judge also questioned why Wolff was now asking the court to consider her report when it was based on Humphreys’s viewpoints which the court had discounted. “I’ve been sentencing for years … The whole truth never comes out, in my experience, until years later,” he said.
Judge Henney further accused Wolff of failing to take into account his judgment.
“When you do a (pre-sentencing) report next time, have regard for the findings of the court,” he said.
Under cross-examination by State advocate Susan Galloway, it emerged that Wolff had previously compiled only one other pre-sentencing report. This was her first time testifying in court as to her findings.
Wolff found that most people in Humphreys’s community felt he was contributive and that he was remorseful for his crime; however, Galloway probed why most of the people she interviewed were relatives or friends of Humphreys.
In addition, Wolff had interviewed families of the victims without disclosing that she was compiling the report on Humphreys’s behalf. She said this was “not a deliberate action”.
Wolff – who graduated with an honours degree in criminology and psychology from the University of Pretoria last year – is in private practice.
In her report, she recommended that Humphreys be given a five-year suspended sentence with certain conditions, such as paying the counselling costs of the crash victims’ families.
Galloway questioned what kind of message would be sent out to other drivers were Humphreys to be given a suspended sentence.
The defence closed its case and the State is to present evidence in aggravation of sentence on Tuesday. - Cape Times
leila.samodien@inl.co.za