Cheeki Rafiki deaths: Yacht firm boss guilty

sailaboutvic said:
Ok guys admin have asked everyone from commenting on this till it's all over , let respect that and have some respect for the four guys that died .
Click to expand...

Correct. The jury took a long time over the first verdicts, indicative of careful consideration of the evidence, and they may therefore take their time over the remaining verdicts.
 
TangaraToo said:
Jury still considering manslaughter charges so i'd guess no.
Click to expand...

Good point, I had only seen the breaking news headline and assumed they had verdicts on all charges.

sailaboutvic said:
let respect that and have some respect for the four guys that died
Click to expand...

Absolutely, it was a horrific tragedy, and their memory should be upper most in our minds. However, there are some important lessons that come out of the entire case, and discussion on forums such as this is a valuable way to inform.

Nothing more to be said until the jury are discharged.
 
Is it OK to discuss the convictions thus far though? Surely that part of it is done now and therefore legal restrictions don't apply. Precise clarification by the moderators needed here I think.

RIP the crew of Cheeki Rafiki, I hope the families get the justice and closure they seek and deserve.
 
I am not sure there are any legal restrictions in discussing the issue on here - unless anyone has an official involvement. However since it indicates there may/will be a retrial as far as the mods are concerned I guess the same restrictions apply.
 
Not 100% sure. English Law. Jury fails to find verdict? There could be a re trial.
Must be extremely unusual for a Jury to convict on a lesser charge and fail to reach a verdict on the more serious charge.
I would expect if the jury is hung and discharged.
The trail moves forward to sentencing. Theoretically the hung jury shouldn't play a part in the sentence.
I wonder what the max sentence for the conviction is. A fine.
You can't jail a company.
A conviction pretty much, means the company will loose a civil case.

I was extremely surprised the practice of sailing school and Charter company's using non code 0 boats on similar pseudo commercial trips to the Caribbean continued after Cheekie Rafiki was lost.
Just my opinion, Innes was doing what a lot of other sailing schools were doing. The RYA appeared to approve or didn't exercise any disapproval. Lightning struck. People were lost.

Surly the loss should have been enough to stop the practice.
 
Last edited:
Norman_E said:
Will he be sentenced for the offence he has been found guilty of, or will that await the re-trial?
Click to expand...

I think he will be sentenced for that - he may or may not actually face retrial - the authorities may decide it is not worth it given they have a guilty verdict on a lesser charge
 
Uricanejack said:
Must be extremely unusual for a Jury to convict on a lesser charge and fail to reach a verdict on the more serious charge.
Click to expand...

I don't know why you would think that. It's often easier to convict on the lesser charge(s).

It seems pretty clear cut that Doug Innes/Stormforce Coaching were guilty of failing to ensure the safety of Cheeki Rafiki, and failing to operate the vessel in a safe manner.

It's far harder to prove that he and/or the company were guilty of manslaughter. The truth is that Doug Innes is going to have to live with the death of those four people for the rest of his life. No other punishment will come close to this.

I do have a personal interest in this trial. Both of my daughters did their Day skipper and Coastal skipper certificates with Stormforce, and both of them knew at least one of the people on board, and Doug too. My younger daughter did her coastal skipper, plus a week of mile building on Cheeki Rafiki with Andrew Bridge in June 2013, during which time they sailed through some abysmal weather. Every time I think of this disaster, it's at the back of my mind that it could have been my child.
 
In a slow to respond to events decision, Time Inc. (UK) Ltd. legal department now state discussion is possible unless to until another trial commences, etc.

Carry on, but please observe the forum T&Cs generally though particularly in regard to defamatory comments.
 
Surely they aren't really going to go for a re-trial?

They have a guilty (by a majority not unanimous) on a lesser charge - that should be enough for them
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top