The Diary

10 August 2004: Lee Hughes - Some Thoughts

Under normal circumstances, the delights of an Albion-Dingles encounter at the Shrine ? goalless, with both Artim Sakiri and Lloyd Dyer delightfully combining to provide what little excitement there was to be had on a drizzly, slightly muggy evening - would have provided more than ample diary-fodder tonight, but I guess the news Hughsie got six years at Coventry Crown Court today put pretty much everything else into the shade. I?d have guessed two or three years, personally, but I suppose what did it for Lee was running away from the scene of the accident in the first place; that, plus being less than forthright with the judge and jury over the contentious matter of his whereabouts for the 36 or so hours immediately afterwards.

Within minutes of the sentence being pronounced, Albion announced that his contract would be cancelled with immediate effect, so there?s going to be no way back for him at the club once he gets out ? which, as the judge seems to have recommended he serves at least three years, will probably mean the end of his football career anyway. At the top level, certainly, unless some lower league club wants to take the chance. A big blow, especially as his legal costs for the whole affair (Lee employed a QC, remember, who, as a species, automatically retain junior barristers to do all the donkey-work for them, plus the services of one of the highest paid motoring-law solicitors in the country, to prepare the case for the barristers) will not run far short of a million pounds. By the time he does come out of prison, he could well be financially ruined also. I find it difficult to believe he?s managed to stash away for a rainy day sufficient of the huge amount of money he?s been paid over the years to tide him over. Lee could appeal, I suppose, and he?s got 28 days to put the papers in; whether he?ll think it worth the candle I don?t know, but should he consider going down that route, he might care to bear in mind that the Criminal Court of Appeal can not only reduce sentences, but increase them as well.

It has to be remembered that all parties in this sad affair will serve what is, in effect, a life-sentence. The Graham family, as a whole, having lost a much-loved family member, Douglas Graham, also those others who were injured in the accident, some seriously. I understand one person still remains in a wheelchair as a result of injuries sustained that Saturday night. The horror and the loss will haunt them for the rest of their days ? as it will Lee Hughes. It?s when you hear that cell door clang on you for the first time, you really begin to appreciate the magnitude of what you?ve done, you feel it hitting home, and you truly want to die. That?s not me talking, that?s what many, many inmates have said to me over the years I was in the Prison Service ? and they, of all people, should know. Before you proceed to the next part of this missive, please note one thing ? I?m not trying to make excuses for what Lee did, for the simple reason that what he did was stupid, immature, and nigh-on indefensible. It?s just that before you all rush to condemn, please read these words ? and think on a little.

I?d now like to introduce you to a couple of well-known sayings. The first? ?Judge not lest ye yourself be judged?. The second? ?There but for the grace of God go I?. As far as the first one goes, how many people reading this piece can put their hands up and say, hands on heart, they have never done anything even slightly naughty? Never nicked pens from the stationery cupboard at work, never ?massaged? an insurance claim, never been economical with the truth on a CV, never tried to exchange or get a refund on goods that weren?t faulty, never bought an illegally - copied video or DVD, or never claimed something they shouldn?t from the State? (Theft, potentially serious fraud, fraud, fraud, fraud and potentially serious fraud.) Never broken the speed limit, never run a red light, never gone the wrong way up a one-way street, never driven in a bus lane - never had a couple of drinks then picked up those ignition keys for the journey home, even? Minor motoring offences, most of them, but be unlucky enough to accidentally run into someone, injure or kill them when doing any of the aforementioned things, and suddenly, you?re looking at a totally different ball-game, and, possibly, the prospect of porridge.

As far my second little homily goes, I think a little tale culled from my experience in the Prison Service will amply illustrate that one. You?re sitting there now thinking there?s no way you could ever wind up in court on such a serious charge? Think yourself too ?respectable? to see the wrong side of a cell door, then? Well, just try this one for size. Around the late seventies, I hadn?t been long in the job when I was sent to a Crown Court in (I think) the West Country to accompany a female who was up for sentence that day. As I awaited ?my turn? in the dock, so to speak, another case preceded my inmate?s. It turned out that the man in question was also up for sentence, but on a manslaughter charge, and what happened was this: the guy was a chemistry teacher, quite ?respectable?, a pillar of the community, but he did like to give fantastic parties at his place, and to ?liven up? the punch he served at these functions, he was in the habit of spiking the brew with pure alcohol from his school lab. Everyone knew exactly what he did to the punch, so it wasn?t a case of them not knowing and supping in all innocence ? in fact, the practice was (is still?) quite widespread, medical students have been doing it since time immemorial.

Unfortunately, on the night in question, our teacher, in a rush to get home, made what was to prove a fatal mistake. Instead of picking up from his lab the bottle marked ?ethyl alcohol? (the stuff you find, in much-diluted form, in common or garden booze), he accidentally picked up another, which said, unbeknown to the defendant, ?methyl alcohol?. One extra consonant only added to the chemical name on the bottle, but enough to turn the punch from something pretty harmless, unless you drunk gallons of the stuff, of course, into a lethal weapon. Methyl alcohol, aka industrial alcohol, and, when dyed purple, is also known as ?meths?, a deadly poison by anyone?s lights. Three people died as a result, and the teacher got three years. One stupid mistake, one highly-respectable professional, who wouldn?t have known a ?criminal way of life? even if it slapped him in the face ? and three people dead, and a career ruined. I?ve also seen numerous people end up in prison doing time for manslaughter (or murder) when drunken fist-fights outside pubs have gone tragically wrong. All it needs is for one person to fall, hit their head on the pavement, have a serious bleed on the brain as a result, and that?s another guilt-ridden person looking at life from the inside out. Never had a fight with someone on a pub car park, or threatened to, even? Never argued with someone after a minor ?prang?, and it?s threatened to turn into something worse? Even the suggestion of violence can bring on fatal heart disease in some ? and yes, there have been prosecutions for manslaughter in those circumstances. Still think it can?t happen to you?

Over the years, I?ve locked up many, many people I?ve considered ?evil?, but Lee Hughes most certainly isn?t one of them. As I said in my opener, immature, stupid, easily led, even ? but not evil. You want to know my definition of ?evil?? It?s the female maths teacher I once sat in a Crown Court dock with during the late eighties. The head of her department, highly intelligent, she discovered her husband was having an affair with another teacher at her school, so quite calmly and deliberately, she gathered together an axe and a sharp butcher?s knife, then went to the ?other woman?s? house, slit her throat and that of her young baby, damn near decapitated them both with the axe, then arranged the bodies so??.. No, perhaps it?s best I don?t go on about the photographs and the pathologist?s evidence, but believe you me, that?s ?evil?.

I?m convinced Lee isn?t the sort of troglodyte to brag to his fellow inmates about what he?s done ? and I?ve seen plenty do precisely that in my time. No, this will remain on his conscience for the rest of his days, no question about that, as will the enormity of what he?s thrown away, his reputation, his career, his young family, possibly ? will his wife wait for him for that length of time, or take the children back to Croatia, I wonder? ? and his freedom for some considerable time to come. Again, I?m not seeking to make excuses, because the Graham family have lost much, much more, in many ways, but one does wonder how many of the ?hangers on? that once crowded around Lee like wasps round a jam-pot will be there for him come the time he eventually leaves custody? Perhaps they should examine their consciences as well, assuming they have such a thing, of course? I?m also left wondering just how many of our current and past players will bother to keep in touch.

Personally, I find the whole sorry business a tragedy; a tragedy for the dead man and his family above all, a tragedy for Lee, and a tragedy for his wife and children, who had nothing whatsoever to do with what happened that night. I?d like to think, though, that when we do think of Lee in years to come, we can find within ourselves enough compassion and forgiveness to remember the goals, the good times, and not just the brief moment of madness that led him to a prison cell.

 - Glynis Wright

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