Conviction
On 11 November 2008, Owen, 36, and his brother Barker, 32, were found guilty of "causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person". Connelly, 27, had pleaded guilty to this charge. Earlier in the trial, Owen and Connelly had been cleared of murder due to insufficient evidence. Barker was found not guilty of murder by a jury.
A second trial occurred in April 2009, when Connelly and Barker, under aliases, faced charges related to the rape of a two-year old girl. The girl was also on Haringey's child protection register. Barker was found guilty of rape, while Connelly was found not guilty of child cruelty charges. Their defence lawyers argued that this second trial was nearly undermined by bloggers publishing information (linking them to the death of Peter) which could have prejudiced the jury.
Sentencing for both trials together took place on 22 May 2009 at the Old Bailey. Connelly was ordered to be held indefinitely, until "deemed no longer to be a risk to the public and in particular to small children", with a minimum term of five years. Barker was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape, with a minimum sentence of ten years, and a 12-year sentence for his role in the death of Peter, to run concurrently. Owen was also jailed indefinitely, and would serve at least three years. The sentences were criticised as too lenient by the NSPCC's chief executive, and the Attorney General considered referring them to the Court of Appeal for review, but concluded there was "no realistic prospect" of the Court of Appeal increasing the sentences. The three appealed against their sentences, Barker against both convictions and sentences.
Read more about this topic: Death Of Baby P
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“And in cases where profound conviction has been wrought, the eloquent man is he who is no beautiful speaker, but who is inwardly drunk with a certain belief. It agitates and tears him, and perhaps almost bereaves him of the power of articulation.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“If I were sufficiently romantic I suppose I’d have killed myself long ago just to make people talk about me. I haven’t even got the conviction to make a successful drunkard.”
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“My first reading of Tolstoy affected me as a revelation from heaven, as the trumpet of the judgment. What he made me feel was not the desire to imitate, but the conviction that imitation was futile.”
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