Afternoon:
10°c
One of the men who murdered 16-year-old Ben Kinsella has issued a boast from his prison cell claiming: "I'm the King of Swagger".
Michael Alleyne, 18, made the comment in a letter which he says is from the "Stab Gang". He is serving a minimum of 19 years, along with two others, for knifing to death Ben who was celebrating the end of his GCSEs in Islington in June last year.
In the letter Alleyne brags of "taming" the prison where he is locked up, adding: "I'm the King of Swagger - everybody knows dat." The gang chased after the teenager and stabbed him 11 times after wrongly believing he had "disrespected" them.
Reader views (13)
Dom - There's supposed to be a difference between us and the criminals, if we are both as barbaric as each other then we're no better than them.
- Nolan, Londonist, 06/10/2009 18:42
Report abuse
Nolan, I dont care wether or not it is barbaric. If it was my brother that had been stabbed I'd be very upset with people like you claiming the death sentance is barbaric. Poor old Ben got chased and stabbed 11 times after the gang wrongly believed he had "disrespected" them. Scum like this are barbaric, and so need to be put down, culled or taken out of the gene pool. Stop protecting scum. People with opinions like yours are 1 of the many reasons why these people don't think twice about killing someone for a dirty look. They get lame sentences, if at all. We have DNA testing & more CCTV than anywhere else in the world. So if there is 100% proof someone is guilty (with not even the slightest doubt), then they deserve the death sentence.
- Dom, London, 06/10/2009 16:33
Report abuse
We have no capital punishment because it's barbaric, it's no deterrent and the chances of mistakes are far too high. If you want to prevent crimes like this you need to do a lot more work on the ground with young people and communities which is not cheap or glamorous but it does work. Knee-jerk calls for revenge might make you feel better but they don't help stop the loss of young lives.
- Nolan, Londonist, 06/10/2009 14:33
Report abuse
Labour will let him out just before the general election.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 06/10/2009 14:13
Report abuse
Just add 5 years to his minimum term for each comment, see how long he swaggers then...
- Dannyp, Egham, 06/10/2009 13:23
Report abuse
What part of "He is serving a minimum of 19 years" don't you understand? This type of tariff was introduced to stop serious offenders serving less time than the judge sentenced them to.
- Nolan, Londonist, 06/10/2009 12:55
Report abuse
and we have no capital punishment because ?
- Squiz, Islington, 06/10/2009 12:52
Report abuse
What an absolute numbskull! given a 19 year sentence at the age of 18years old and all this pratt can talk about is how he's the... ah, I can't even bring myself to repeat such tripe. Some member of his family should go and visit him, to remind him of all the life he'll miss out on. They must be ashamed! RIP Ben
- Roderick, Greenwich, 06/10/2009 12:51
Report abuse
I cant believe I have to pay tax to keep low-life scum like this in jail.
Guaranteed some human-rights do-good freak will respond to protect this scum's life. So wrong. He lost all human rights the day he took someone elses human rights away.
- Dom, London, 06/10/2009 12:43
Report abuse
I thought all letters in prisons were read by staff. they should be in the case of pond life like this. Also they should NOT be allowed any sort of facebook/internet activity. no way should any messages like this be given any sort of coverage media or otherwise. The feelings of the family are the only thing that matters. let this person rot in prison and be forgotten.
- Sally Brooks, uk, 06/10/2009 10:27
Report abuse
Nolan, what makes you think he will be in there for
19 yrs? He'll only serve two-thirds of his sentence
at the most. The Criminal Rights Brigade will see
to that; they can't wait to get him out.
- Lb, Bromley, 05/10/2009 21:58
Report abuse
Another reason why the death penalty should be re-introduced.
- Mark, South-East London, 05/10/2009 14:54
Report abuse
Enjoy swaggering round that cell for the next 19 years, loser.
- Nolan, Londonist, 05/10/2009 12:26
Report abuse
