David Worrell: A Case of Blind Justice

Back in1985, a 25-year-old Londoner named David Worrell decided that he wanted to become a bank robber, and he was not going to let the fact that he was completely blind in one eye and had only 15% vision in the other stop him.  He walked into a London bank and handed a teller a note demanding 2,000 pounds.  When the teller screamed, Mr. Worrell lost his nerve and tried to make a getaway, running smack into the bank’s doors before managing to get outside.  The police very quickly apprehended him. (Apparently he did not try to be his own getaway driver.)  The sentencing judge gave Mr. Worrell one year’s probation.  Ironically enough, I was in London in November of 1985 and I distinctly remember not only reading about the case, but also reading a newspaper columnist bemoaning the fact that Mr. Worrell received such a light sentence.  My law school classmates regarded me as having quite draconian views on issues of crime and punishment, but I really fail to see what could have been accomplished by locking up Mr. Worrell.  I recently did an internet search on Mr. Worrell, and he has managed to stay out of the news for the last 28 years.  Maybe he has seen the light?