from Hacker News

UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword

by tristanperry on 7/3/24, 5:48 PM with 30 comments

• by croes on 7/4/24, 6:14 AM

  >What’s missing from every report about this I could find, and what is so crucial to understanding this story, however is that Anthony Bray is a repeat offender with a long rap sheet and numerous prison sentences, several of which were for burglary including serial burglary. In 2011, Bray was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison after getting “three strikes” for burgling residences. But his run-ins with the law go back to 1989 and he was in court numerous times throughout the 90s as well.

  https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2024/07/03/zelda-maste...

• by sethammons on 7/3/24, 6:21 PM

  That thing looks less dangerous than a decent pen. Def less risky than a rock. Four months in prison for this seems like abuse. This could result in lost job, lost housing, etc, for a toy. Why do people support this?

• by lawn on 7/3/24, 6:24 PM

  Another case of "zero tolerance" meaning "zero thought".

  Other examples include students for fighting when they use self-defense.

• by verdverm on 7/3/24, 6:27 PM

  Guardian piece is more in depth and detailed

  https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/03/man-...

• by kstenerud on 7/3/24, 7:18 PM

  For everyone freaking out over this:

  It's a 6 inch metal blade, and he was walking along a public street, holding it unsheathed in front of him. He still had it out in front of him when he approached the police and they arrested him.

  I'd expect the same thing for any 6 inch blade being brandished in public, and would be worried about anyone doing such a thing.

• by gnarbarian on 7/3/24, 6:27 PM

  the absolute state of UK law enforcement has proven American constitutionalist claims of a slippery slope for both gun control and hate legislation.

• by altairprime on 7/3/24, 6:22 PM

  > "It is possible to find fidget toys that aren’t six-inch blades. It is possible not to walk down the street holding them out in front of you.“

  Was he arrested while emulating Zelda NES with it? That would explain how this happened and also why they’re so upset: not because they care about Zelda or not, but because the significant risk of someone taking a fatal injury to a six inch blade held out in front of you on a public walkway.

• by atmavatar on 7/3/24, 8:43 PM

  The guy just needs to play → A ↓ → A ↓, and those 4 months will go by like a breeze.

• by r0ckarong on 7/3/24, 6:20 PM

  Clown Island strikes again

• by psunavy03 on 7/3/24, 6:25 PM

  So "lack of self-awareness" is now punishable in the UK by 4 months in jail?

• by bell-cot on 7/3/24, 6:23 PM

  [Facepalm/]

  Whatever the local knife crime rate might be, if this guy has no links to criminal activity or gangs, then I'm thinking that 4 months in His Majesty's chokey (plus a £154 fine) is really not a win for either the Crown's or public's interests.

  Lecture the guy for being an idiot, give him a menu of (1) 4 hours in the stocks, in public, under an "I Wuz A Moron" sign, (2) 400 hours charity work for a Zeldathon-linked charity, and (3) £4,000 fine, and tell him to pick any two of those.

• by simmerup on 7/3/24, 6:18 PM

  Clearly caught them having a bad day

• by hypeatei on 7/3/24, 6:32 PM

  The memes about knife crime in the UK are true...

• by slackfan on 7/3/24, 6:23 PM

  Ban assault knives.