Yeah, right

The Herald reported:

An Auckland man who has spent his entire adult life in and out of jail – including for a 2021 incident in which he fired a gun during a police standoff – told a judge this week that he is finally ready to make a genuine effort at getting his life on track.

Of course he is. They always are at sentencing hearings.

“I really hope you can do that,” Judge Lummis said on Thursday of Cossill’s expressed desire to live a better life. “You need to keep this positive attitude …” 

But the judge also pointed to Cossill’s more than 200 prior convictions, and the many chances judges have afforded him in the past – some of which left other judges likely regretting their charity after Cossill reoffended within days.

Which is why we need a decent three strikes law. Why let him out time after time, so he can reoffend within days?

“I consider you have suffered enough and nobody has given you a chance to address your addictions,” Judge Mary-Beth Sharp said during his July 2022 sentencing for the charge, describing Cossill as “somebody that this country has failed dismally”.

Yeah, he is the real victim.

The four-year sentence she settled on reflected two 15% reductions – for his guilty plea and for his background – and an additional 5% reduction for his remorse and efforts to change.

He gets 5% for remorse for his 222nd conviction!

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