By Lucy Caulkett-
The son of a former police and crime commissioner (PCC) has been jailed for 42 months after killing a woman with his tractor.
28 year old Henry Bett is the son of the ex-Norfolk PCC Stephen Bett. He was found guilty on Friday after a retrial at Cambridge crown court for causing the death of 43-year-old Rebecca Brown by dangerous driving.
Henry Bett had been sentenced to prison for three and a half years but managed to have the conviction quashed at the court of appeal, with a new the retrial ordered. That trial concluded with 10 jurors finding him guilty, only 2 of them wanting him to walk free.
The Norfolk man ought to have been acutely aware of the law, considering the high position of his father in the police rankings. Instead, he drove his tractor head-on into Brown’s Fiat people carrier in Castle Acre,
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Norfolk, in December 2013. Henry Bett obviously felt he was above the law in driving so recklessly on a bend without taking into account the danger he was subjecting others too.
Chief prosecutor, Adrain Foster, said Bett was travelling in the middle of the road, and ‘’failed to take sufficient steps to avoid a collision’’. The incident occurred on a bend where Bett is said to have been driving too fast in contrast with the careful driving of his victim, which the judge said was ‘’beyond reproach’’.
Children of highly positioned police officers or commissioners, or any top positions, are usually full of themselves, projecting an inflated view of self -importance in their day to day lives. When that self inflated view is transferred to their daily activities, even simple things like driving can render them a menace to society.
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Brown’s husband, Stephen, read a victim statement read to the court that said: “Life for all of us will never be the same again.” He said the death of his wife was always on his mind. “She could do things only mums can do and I find it hard having to make all the decisions for the family,” he added.
“We just wish that he had admitted his guilt before putting us through two trials. The pain and upset this has caused us along with the lies and false blame he put on to Becky is very difficult to forgive.”
She said Brown was a “beautiful person” who was “so, so loved”. “She was a brilliant mum,” she added. “Her children are a credit to her and we see her in them which is a great comfort. We are so proud of all of them.”
There is a big lesson to be learnt here for all drivers who put their feet on the accelerator without thinking. It can lead to tragic loss of life which is irreversible. In fact, it should be considered a cheek that he asked for an appeal of his conviction. He has caused misery for the lives of the victim’s family, and unfortunately, the jail sentence given to him cannot compensate him for this awful loss.
Henry Bett had already served 13 months of his original jail sentence when he won the right for a retrial. It meant putting the family of Rebecca Brown through the trauma of the whole court hearing again.
Defendants never appreciate how difficult it is for family members still grieving a death to have to sit through a trial about it, let alone two trials. Their selfish desire to get off always outweighs fair thinking
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