“ONE PUNCH LAW”

“One punch” assaults known as “The King Hit” have cost over 90 lives since the year 2000. New South Wales have had the largest number of one punch assaults which is 28, followed by Queensland and Victoria who have recorded 24 cases each. Picture this, imagine a teenage boy who is having fun with his mates, and he gets “King Hit” by a stranger in which had taken his life. You would think that the killer would receive a very harsh prison sentence right? Well that isn’t always the case. One person who was a victim in a situation very similar to this. Thomas Kelly. Thomas Kelly is an 18 year old boy who was “King Hit” in Kings Cross in New South Wales. All it took was one punch to end his life. The attacker received a 4 year …show more content…

Their career and reputation is ruined and will affect their life in the long run.

The prison sentence for these “one punch” offenders can be seen as extremely harsh in the eyes of some people. Even though they may have committed the crime, is a prison sentence really necessary? Imagine an 18 year old going to jail for 10 years for one stupid mistake. 10 years of their life wasted. It may not always be the punch that killed the victim. In some cases it is the impact of the fall that caused their death. This can be used as a factor in courts however it is usually dismissed because they see it as the punch should have not been thrown in the first place.

Alcohol and drugs play a major role in this issue. About 90% of “king hit” assaults are alcohol or drug related incidents. Alcohol and drugs can have a major impact on an individuals actions. As most of these cases are alcohol related, it may be unfair to those who are charged when it can be seen as the alcohol that through the punch, not the person themselves. If people are willing to go out into these areas, they should be going at their own risk and be cautious of people around them. Most of the victims in these cases are also under the influence of alcohol.

So as you can see there are many factors to take into account in this issue. First I told you about the main arguments for this issue. They included the prison sentencing for “the king hit” being too low, the victims family and friends having to pay the price