Court verdicts shared without context do not prove two-tier policing in the U.K.

Context

As far-right riots across the U.K. continued into their second week, more than 420 people have been arrested and 140 charged so far in connection with the violent unrest. 

Concurrently, allegations of two-tier policing have gained traction online. The concept is often used to suggest that law enforcement penalizes individuals representing the right side of the political spectrum more heavily than those on the left or representatives of ethnic minority groups. Senior politicians and police officers have discredited the concept.

For example, users on X, Facebook, and TikTok (examples archived here and here) shared the claim, "If you want to know how things are going in globalist England. LEFT: James Nelson, 18, who has been jailed for TWO MONTHS for protesting on Sunday. RIGHT: Lawson Natty, 18, who will spend just SIX months in jail for the manslaughter of a 14-year-old boy. They free child murderers and jail those protesting them."

Other online users shared the same claim (example archived here) with the caption, "Here's a other for you. Black laws on natty 18 who. Murdered a 14 year old got 6months in jail. White James Nelson 18 has been jailed 2 months for attending a march on sunday. The legal system in the UK is bent..."

Logically Facts found that Nelson's and Natty's court verdicts were shared misleadingly by excluding necessary context.

In fact

The courts decide on cases based on individual merit and context, not in relation to other sentences handed out to other individuals for unrelated crimes. This makes comparing these two cases inconsequential to drawing the conclusion made in the online posts. 

James Nelson was imprisoned for causing criminal damage, not protesting

Nelson, 18, was sentenced to two months imprisonment at Manchester Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to causing criminal damage during the riots in Bolton on August 4.  

During the riots, Nelson caused significant damage to the windows of two police cars parked at a Morrisons car park on Black Horse Street, according to Manchester Evening News' summary of the court proceedings. 

Statements in court suggest that the context of the ongoing riots toughened Nelson's prison sentence. Prosecutor John Potter had described Nelson "as being of 'good character' with no previous convictions, but said "the demonstrations over the weekend aggravated his offense." Judge Hirst stated that an immediate custodial sentence would be the only sufficient type of punishment to "deter others from damaging police vehicles."

Lawson Natty's manslaughter sentence was based on providing the lethal weapon to his accomplice

In March 2024, two teenagers, Carlos Neto and Lawson Natty, were found guilty of the manslaughter of a 14-year-old boy and unlawful wounding of a second victim, according to Northumbria Police. Both men were cleared of the initial murder charges. Natty was jailed for two years and eight months, and Neto for nine years and two months.

According to the sentencing remarks, Lawson Natty was armed with a machete but "never removed your machete from down your trousers." Instead, the conviction was based upon Natty's supply of the machete to Neto, who inflicted the fatal wound on the 14-year-old. 

On August 6, The Northern Echo reported that Natty is scheduled for early release in September as part of the government's early-release measures. Accordingly, the 14-year-old victim's mother received a confirmation letter from the HM Prison and Probation Service stating, "We have been advised that Lawson Natty meets the criteria for this scheme, so I'm writing to inform you that the release will be brought forward."

Logically Facts contacted the Ministry of Justice to ask about the criteria for an early release, as in the case of Lawson Natty. They directed us to its press release on the early-release measures, published on July 12. According to the statement, the government "will temporarily reduce the proportion of certain custodial sentences served in prison from 50 percent to 40 percent" in response to the overcrowded prisons in the U.K. The scheme will only apply to those in prison and past the 40 percent point in their sentence in September when the measures come into force. 

The early-release measures do not apply to sentences for severe violent offenses of four years or more, among other serious crimes. The Probation Service will strictly monitor released prisoners and recall them to prison if they breach their license conditions.

The verdict

The court verdicts of James Nelson and Lawson Natty were shared without full context. Nelson was not jailed for protesting, but he pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage during the riots in Bolton. Natty was sentenced to two years and eight months for manslaughter, not murder, after supplying the lethal weapon to his accomplice. Natty will be released early in September as part of the government's early-release scheme, but he will be subject to probation conditions. Therefore, we marked the claim as misleading.