Oxford medical student stabs date, won't go to jail bc it'd be career damaging

[The Larch]

Student who stabbed boyfriend may avoid jail as it would 'damage her career'
Aspiring surgeon Lavinia Woodward admits attack but judge defers sentencing because of her 'extraordinary' talent

An Oxford University student who stabbed her boyfriend with a bread knife may not go to jail because it could damage her prospects of a medical career, a court has heard.

Aspiring heart surgeon Lavinia Woodward, 24, punched and stabbed her boyfriend during an alcohol-and-drug-fuelled row at Christ Church College. She admitted unlawfully wounding the Cambridge University student, who she met on the dating app Tinder.

Judge Ian Pringle QC, sitting at Oxford crown court, said he would take an "exceptional" course and defer sentence for four months, hinting that Woodward will not be jailed because of her talent. "It seems to me that if this was a one-off, a complete one-off, to prevent this extraordinary able young lady from not following her long-held desire to enter the profession she wishes to would be a sentence which would be too severe," he said.

"What you did will never, I know, leave you, but it was pretty awful, and normally it would attract a custodial sentence, whether it is immediate or suspended," he said.

Woodward, who lives in Milan, Italy, with her mother, stabbed her then-boyfriend in the leg after punching him in the face. She then hurled a laptop, glass and jam jar at him during the attack on 30 September last year, the court heard. She was in court to hear the judge's comments.

The court was told that Christ Church would allow her to return in October because she "is that bright" and has had articles published in medical journals.

Mitigating, James Sturman QC said his client's dreams of becoming a surgeon were "almost impossible" as her conviction would have to be disclosed. She had had a very troubled life and was abused by a previous boyfriend, he said.

Woodward will be sentenced on 25 September. She was given a restraining order and told to stay drug-free and not to reoffend.

A spokesman for Christ Church said: "I'm afraid that Christ Church does not comment on the circumstances of individual students."

She obviously has a talent with knives. Wonder if the judge would act the same way if she wasn't a posh Oxford student, though...

[HVC]

Funny, when I read the title of this thread I envision a guy stabbing a girl and feminists freaking out. My world view is shattered

[Valmy]

Now that is an impressive amount of privilege.  No wonder she wants to be a surgeon.

Is her boyfriend ok? I guess it does say he was 'wounded' so I guess he recovered.

abused by a previous boyfriend

Ok but not by that boyfriend so I don't see the relevance.

[Fate]

What the fuck. Throw the crazy bitch in jail. Clear substance abuse issues and violent tendencies? You want this kind of person operating on you?

[HVC]

What the fuck? She's at least 7-8 years away from being a heart surgeon. Throw the crazy bitch in jail. Clear substance abuse issues and violent tendencies? You want this kind of person operating on you?

House has taught me that the best doctors are the most drugged out doctors

[The Larch]

Funny, when I read the title of this thread I envision a guy stabbing a girl and feminists freaking out. My world view is shattered

Took me a bit to find the right ambiguous wording. 

[garbon]

Given that her name is now searchable on google, do they think her not needing to disclose will keep this a secret to prospective employers?

[celedhring]

She can apply to have the records removed from search engines under EU law. If the brits keep that part after the buh-bye.

[garbon]

She can apply to have the records removed from search engines under EU law. If the brits keep that part after the buh-bye.

Oh that's true. Also, she's in Milan now.

[celedhring]

On the matter at hand, I'm not sure how indulging her drug-addled bouts of violence is going to be conducive to her becoming an accomplished surgeon.

[Malthus]

On the matter at hand, I'm not sure how indulging her drug-addled bouts of violence is going to be conducive to her becoming an accomplished surgeon.

Well, maybe she will become a creative surgeon. 

[The Brain]

In Sweden unemployed people explicitly get more jail time than people in fancy jobs (because losing your fancy job is considered when deciding on jail time). A good idea? Depends on who you're asking.

I'm sure medicine is different, but in my line of work you wouldn't hire a person with a history of stabbing. The stabbing itself would indicate a person who is unfit for such work.

[Richard Hakluyt]

The mitigation doesn't make sense to me. On the one hand abusive ex-bf and troubled life is an excuse for a light sentence, but surely it is a red flag for her becoming a surgeon  ?

[DGuller]

I don't think it's completely absurd to consider the effect of sentence on someone's career.  It's more absurd to blackball people from careers where they can do a lot of good, because of a mistake they did in the past and paid for.

[CountDeMoney]

I don't think it's completely absurd to consider the effect of sentence on someone's career.  It's more absurd to blackball people from careers where they can do a lot of good, because of a mistake they did in the past and paid for.

That's because you're a sociopath.