Emma West: Sun guns for mentally ill woman but is silent on its in-house ‘nutters’
HOW did the Sun report on Emma West, the woman who became YouTube’s Tram Lady on account of her racist rant on New Addington public transport? At the time of her vile rant we commented that she looked not all that well. It turns that that she isn’t.
Emma West will pay for her crime. She will not be raped and murdered as many on Twitter wanted.
Remi Ogunfowora, prosecuting, told Croydon Crown Court of a May 15, 2013, attack on her partner Ricky Metson:
“Mr Metson put his hands up in front of him to protect himself and told her to calm down. She said she was going to call her mum and ran upstairs and Mr Metson followed. As he entered the room she picked up an ornamental knife from its sheath, struck him in the head and started slashing at his body. He slapped her around the face in self-defence to try and calm her down and went downstairs. She followed him down the stairs and stabbed him in the back at least twice. She tried to run out the house and he stopped her leaving and called the police… Mr Metson suffered two puncture wounds on his back and various slash and scratch wounds over his stomach, head, back of his neck, arms and legs. When officers tried to arrest Miss West she started to kick them.”
She sounds dangerously unstable.
The Croydon Guardian reports:
Mr Metson is standing by West after her attack on him, and was with her at court on Monday.
This is Croydon adds:
Right wing groups such as the National Front and British National Party had adopted her cause after she was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence in November 2011. West’s barrister said their support – including sending her flowers and cheques – had “greatly distressed” his client and led her try and take her own life.
Her deteriorating mental health led to concerns for her safety and that of her family, fears which were realised last month when she stabbed her husband Ricky Metson with a knife – while on bail – after he intervened in her latest attempt to self-harm. Mr Metson suffered superficial injuries after incident at their home in Grenville Road, New Addington, on May 15.
And:
West, who has suffered from depression since she was 18, was admitted to a psychiatric ward in Foxley Lane, Purley, in September 2011. Following her release she had been receiving support at the Tamworth Road Resource Centre, in West Croydon. It was as West returned from one of these sessions with her four-year-old son that racially abused passengers in a packed tram.
Also:
Croydon Crown Court has previously heard that West, a former dental receptionist, had taken a double dose of her medication at the time of the incident, which is believed to have occurred on October 18 last year.
None of that excuses her behaviour. But it might make us more compassionate towards her. Mental illness is nothing to mock.
But this is what the Sun said:
A MUM whose racist rant on a tram horrified millions on YouTube has finally admitted her guilt – as it is revealed she also stabbed her husband and attacked a cop.
Emma West, 34, a former dental nurse from Croydon, pleaded guilty last month to stabbing and slashing her husband Ricky Metson and assaulting a police officer. On Monday she also pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence when she appeared at Croydon Crown Court – 18 MONTHS after the incident. More than 2.2million people
The Sun makes no mention of her mental health. It does not say that the wounds she inflicted were superficial and that her partner of 12 years is supporting her. It does not say that she was suicidal and suffers from depression, a hideous and misunderstood condition.
On the same day as West was pleading guilty to to hurling racist abuse, Virginia Wheeler was not in Southwark Crown Court to answer charges of phone hacking.
The Crown dropped its case against Virginia Wheeler, 34, who, allegedly, acted as a contact at the Sun for a crooked police officer with secrets to sell. Her prosecution was deemed not to be in the public interest for medical reasons.
James Wood, QC, for Ms Wheeler, said: “Had it not been for these matters, I would like to put on the record that Ms Wheeler would have vigorously contested these proceedings.”
You see, mental health is a big issue. When an alleged criminal is mentally ill, the State is not insensitive towards them. The Sun, on the other hand, monsters the sufferer. Unless they work in the same building, that is, in which case they get total privacy, good lawyers and care…
PS_ You can read about John Kay here (but not in the Sun). He’s the Sun employee who drowned his wife.
Posted: 5th, June 2013 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
