luke mccormick

[sonicyouth]

I stabbed a man in the heart.

[Coca Fola]

I stabbed a man in the heart.

You were drunk, it's fine. We all make mistakes.

[Flashheart]

I stabbed a man in the heart.

With your stare?

[deltaincline]

Having read through the thread again my conclusion is this:

Does he deserve a second chance? Yes, of course.

Should that second chance be with us? No, we're not that desparate for a keeper and do not need all that accompanying baggage. Let AFC Telford or Alfreton Town (or whoever) sign him - he will get his second chance, it just does not need to be with us.

I can't rationalise what he did because of the dire consequences.

Yes, he's served the time. He's been punished for the 'crime' in law only.

2 kids died though. The law doesn't cover scenarios like that, never has and never will because it's just words on bits of paper stuffed into in a statute book somewhere.

The parents and family will suffer the lifetime of burden and misery that some pissed-up arsehole inflicted on them when he got behind the wheel of his car.

Thats the human side of what happened and my heart goes out to those poor fuckers who were robbed of watching those kids grow up.

McCormick shouldn't even be thinking of returning to professional football. Just as a mark of fucking respect to the kids who died and those left behind, he should be doing something out of the public eye like charity work and keeping his head down for the rest of his life.

Some 'crimes' are beyond forgiveness (whatever the fuck that jumped up, bible-bashing bollocks word actually means) and the perpetrator in cases like this one should never be heard of again.

[Trashbat?]

I stabbed a man in the heart.

With a trident?

[joteddyred]

The difference between your story and Luke McCormack's is that no one died in yours.  I appreciate that he didn't set out to kill the children, but he did.  The problem with the 'we've all been there' type of argument is that, like it or not, it marginalises the most important factor in the episode - that two children died - in favour of promoting the point that there was no intention to harm anyone.  To me, this is not as important.

I do agree that convicted criminals deserve a chance to rebuild their lives.  But just as the family of the children have had to accept a huge change in their lives, I don't think that it's at all unreasonable for the perpetrator to accept some changes in his/hers after they have served their time.  In McCormack's case, my own take is that he has probably forfeited the right to work in the entertainment industry, of which football is a branch.  Plenty of other arenas in which he could forge a worthwhile living for himself.  As I said earlier, this doesn't feel right.

This.  

There were photos of him recently in the paper on day release for his son's birthday accompanied by an interview with the parents of the boys that died and how they felt about it.

Not only have they had to face life without their two boys, the father is paralysed and needs round the clock care.  How the fuck do you move on from something like that, especially when the person who caused it can now seemingly pick up where he left off?  Oh and he's got a son to enjoy now, something he took from them twice over.

If he had any remore he'd be keeping a low profile and certainly not trying to find a new club the minute he's released.  If this happens it'll be splashed across the papers and they'll be constant abuse directed at the club.  I can't believe they'd be stupid enough to even consider it.  I'm disgusted tbh.

[leftside]

I don't want this child killing cunt anywhere near our club.

Fuck the namby pamby "ooh he made a mistake" bollocks. He can fuck off and rot in hell.

I can understand these sentiments, but the reality is he can't rot in hell ... yet, if you believe that kind of thing.

Yes, he did act like a cunt and society has punished him through the law of the land. Of course it can't be measured against the death of two children, but the past can't be changed.

It isn't 'namby pamby ... bollocks' - criminals need to be dealt with and he has (the degree of punishment is usually the contentious issue). He fucked-up big time, he knows it, we know it, the club knows it. Society, including all prospective employers, has to deal with ex-cons. The easy option is to try to sweep them under a convenient carpet. The harder option is to face the reality and do something purposeful.

It sure as hell made me feel uncomfortable when I heard the news on TV this evening. I'd rather it not be STFC, but it is, and we have to deal with it this time round, just like others have in the past and will have to in the future. Football is his trade so why try and foist him on someone else's?

[Gnasher]

There were photos of him recently in the paper on day release for his son's birthday accompanied by an interview with the parents of the boys that died and how they felt about it.

Not only have they had to face life without their two boys, the father is paralysed and needs round the clock care.  How the fuck do you move on from something like that, especially when the person who caused it can now seemingly pick up where he left off?  Oh and he's got a son to enjoy now, something he took from them twice over.

If he had any remore he'd be keeping a low profile and certainly not trying to find a new club the minute he's released.  If this happens it'll be splashed across the papers and they'll be constant abuse directed at the club.  I can't believe they'd be stupid enough to even consider it.  I'm disgusted tbh.

This x 2

[Shaw Rosso]

This.  

There were photos of him recently in the paper on day release for his son's birthday accompanied by an interview with the parents of the boys that died and how they felt about it.

Not only have they had to face life without their two boys, the father is paralysed and needs round the clock care.  How the fuck do you move on from something like that, especially when the person who caused it can now seemingly pick up where he left off?  Oh and he's got a son to enjoy now, something he took from them twice over.

If he had any remore he'd be keeping a low profile and certainly not trying to find a new club the minute he's released.  If this happens it'll be splashed across the papers and they'll be constant abuse directed at the club.  I can't believe they'd be stupid enough to even consider it.  I'm disgusted tbh.

This too. I saw the same thing in the papers. It would be disappointing if we were to entertain the idea of signing him

[reeves4england]

My view is he did something beyond stupid which nobody can put right, he was punished for it according to the laws of the land, and he is being released back into society. He has to start rebuilding his life, as anybody else would do, and I don't mind if he does it at Swindon.

Yes, it will attract attention, but we've not suffered from all the negative opinions about Paolo so far. And yes, he's in a public job, but it's not like his face is going to be all over the national news every week - in fact, outside of Swindon you'd be highly unlikely to ever see his picture/name.

I respect people who are much more opposed than me, but personally don't have anything against giving him the chance to start again.

[Flashheart]

Looking forward to seeing how these opinions will fizzle into acceptance should the mass murderer sign.

[Nomoreheroes]

Wifey put this a good way:

- If McCormick was your son, would you want him to have a second chance or whould you want him vilified wherever he went for the rest of his life?

- If it were your sons that died, would you want him to have a second chance or whould you want him vilified wherever he went for the rest of his life?

Would you be so compassionate in both answers?  It would take a bigger man than me to do so.

[König]

It's such an odd thing for our board to even consider. Seeing as they've got most issues spot on so far it's odd that they'd accept all the negative press that would come with his signing, especially when realistically he's going to be second choice behind Wes. It would be more understandable if he was a world beater, but for a back up keeper it seems strange.

Even more odd is the fact that the board is clearly quite keen to advertise our club as a family club, you'd think that the last thing they'd want to do is sign a player who has destroyed a family.

[deltaincline]

My view is he did something beyond stupid which nobody can put right, he was punished for it according to the laws of the land, and he is being released back into society. He has to start rebuilding his life, as anybody else would do, and I don't mind if he does it at Swindon.

Yes, it will attract attention, but we've not suffered from all the negative opinions about Paolo so far. And yes, he's in a public job, but it's not like his face is going to be all over the national news every week - in fact, outside of Swindon you'd be highly unlikely to ever see his picture/name.

I respect people who are much more opposed than me, but personally don't have anything against giving him the chance to start again.

Your bleeding heart bullshit knows no bounds, R4E;-)

Putting aside the morality arguments, signing this dickhead will be mortifyingly terrible PR for a football club that is now properly run, with credible investors in the boardroom and a legend manager guiding us on the field.

I honestly can not see PDC running with it.

[Flashheart]

I honestly can not see PDC running with it.

According to reports McCormick has been in training with the club already.