When the police entered Jacob Power’s bedroom in the sleepy English village of Hamstead Marshall in February, they found a notebook with the words “KILL LIST” scrawled on the cover. Inside, Mr. Power had written out his extensive plan to become a serial killer.
In the woods behind his house, where he lived with his mother and stepfather, he had dug two graves, and he stockpiled equipment in his home for a “kill room,” inspired by the television show “Dexter,” which graphically depicted a serial killer’s life. He had bought knives, restraints and body bags.
The chilling details of Mr. Power’s plans were laid out by prosecutors at his two-week trial this month in Reading, 40 miles west of London, in a case that has illustrated a gap in British laws for prosecuting people who plan multiple killings without a terrorist motive. Prosecutors initially had charged Mr. Power with attempted murder but decided in the end they could only pursue charges of burglary and property damage under current law.
On Monday, a jury acquitted him of what ended up being the most serious charge against him: aggravated burglary, or breaking in while armed. Though he admitted to lesser crimes of burglary, property damage and cannabis possession, sentencing rules mean that he will likely face only a handful of years in prison.
Legal experts say the case demonstrates the difficulties in prosecuting lone defendants who plan killings but do not carry them out. While the law makes it possible to convict someone for planning a terrorist act for ideological reasons, it is harder to prosecute someone for planning murders for other motives, unless they are conspiring with others.
“The mere act of preparation, as long as it is linked to a terrorism mind-set, can be prosecuted,” said Jessie Blackbourn, a professor at Durham Law School. “For attempted murder, the actions have to be more than merely preparatory.”
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The post A ‘Dexter’ Obsessed Man Highlights a Gap in British Law appeared first on New York Times.
