This is a thread for discussion of the Thomas Mair case.
Briefly, Helen Joanne "Jo" Cox ((née Leadbeater) was a Labour politician and Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen, a West Yorkshire constituency.
On 16th. June 2016, Cox was shot and stabbed several times in a street of the village of Birstall, West Yorkshire, within her constituency.
A suspect was quickly identified and apprehended. This suspect was later revealed to be Thomas Alexander Mair, a gardener, then 53, who I understand lived nearby.
In November of the same year, Mr Mair was convicted of:
(i). Jo Cox's murder;
(ii). grievous bodily harm with intent for the assault of a passerby, Mr Bernard Kenny;
(iii). possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence; and,
(iv). possession of an offensive weapon, being a dagger.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment and is subject to a whole life order.
Whatever view one takes about Thomas Mair's politics, whether for or against or something else, it seems to me that he committed this killing and he has been convicted.
There are, however, people who believe Thomas Mair is wrongly convicted or they think there is something not quite right about what happened.
Roch brought the subject up in another thread, so let's discuss it here. I am sceptical, but I am willing to consider possibilities.
Let me start by replying to Roch's reply to mine on the other thread (there's no need to read my earlier post for context, as I cover the same ground in my reply here):
I suspect he may be a 'patsy'. I doubt there's a need for there to be anything special about him, however he may have conveniently met certain criteria which placed him in that position.
The glaring question is: Why hasn't he protested his innocence? He is held in a high security prison, but he is not held
incommunicado. He is not mute. He is in the general prison population with access to the same communication opportunities and legal rights as other prisoners. Why haven't we heard from him or heard about him claiming he didn't do it?
Or do you not accept he is in prison at all? If you don't accept this, what proof would you require that he is in custody for these offences?
Jo Cox may well have been killed.
Do you accept that she was killed?
If you don't accept this, what manner of proof would you require?
In the aftermath of the killing, I immediately considered the incident was linked to an attempt to manipulate the Brexit vote.
It manifestly was. You are correct. Even if only subconsciously, Thomas Mair was attempting to influence the referendum. As was everybody else, including organs of state. But isn't the idea of powerful people killing a Member of Parliament a bit much? Would they really have so much riding on the referendum to be motivated to do that, with all the risks it entails?
Nothing has changed my mind on that, however there may be more strands to it. Although Jo Cox was not well known to the UK public or even within Westminster, she had at a relatively young age held some arguably prominent positions.
Lots of people hold prominent positions. What specific reason would anybody have to kill her? And who? And why?
I hope it's not his trial lawyer.
Do you think he had effective assistance from counsel?
I think his mam has visited him.
I thought his mother was already dead, but maybe I'm mistaken. That brings me to a relevant point. My understanding is that he was in a council house living with his mother (or some other relative) and his mother (or relative) died. The council then wanted him out. He went to Jo Cox for assistance and he was disappointed with her. I'm not suggesting he killed her for that reason, but I am suggesting that this would have set him off.
I may have got my facts awry here, though. I haven't looked into the case too carefully.
If you write to him to discuss the circumstances of his case and trial, there's a good chance you will receive a visit from plain clothes officers, ostensibly to check for any 'right wing' leanings - but in reality to warn you off.
I've already had that - a visit from the Special Branch. Don't worry, they already know about me.
I may write to him.
If he attempted to do so, it may break whatever arrangement / agreement that he was coerced in to, thereby placing either himself or his family at risk in some way or form.
What hold would they have on him, though? His mother is already dead (though I may be mistaken about that fact - possibly it's a different relative he was living with).