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Love Is Blind, Also Stupid
Australian judges granted a husband's wish that his wife's jail term be reduced after she was convicted of trying to hire a hitman to kill him. Canadian Gerry Skura, 51, told the court he had forgiven his wife, Marie, and wanted her sentence cut so their family could be rehabilitated. The court heard Marie, 37, also a Canadian, had tried to kill her husband by poisoning his food, giving him sleeping tablets and setting fire to his bedroom.
| Sounds like Marie wants out of this relationship. She also just can't seem to get a handle on this murder thing. |
It heard Marie had become homesick after the family moved from Canada to Melbourne in 2001 when Gerry, an executive with a grain company, took up a new job with the firm. She had affairs, drank heavily and gambled away nearly 60,000 dollars (46,000 US) and was arrested after paying an undercover police officer posing a hitman 25,000 dollars to kill her husband.
| If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then hire outside help. Poor Marie can't even get that right. |
Marie stood to gain 280,000 dollars from an insurance payout. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced last July to seven years' jail with a minimum of four-and-a-half years.
| Seven years, that's it? Memo to self, stay out of Australia, might give the wife ideas. |
The Victorian Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday the sentencing judge had not given enough weight to Gerry Skura's victim impact statement.
| I guess her trying to kill him, let's see, 1, 2, 3, FOUR TIMES didn't have much impact on Gerry either. |
Justice Tim Smith said the crime deserved heavy punishment but the sentence should also aide rehabilitation. "Here the victim, her husband has forgiven her, wants to help her rehabilitation and save the family," Smith said. The court cut the maximum term to six years with a minimum of three.
| Gerry seems to be trying for a Darwin Award. |
Posted by: Steve 2004-04-07 |
