The argument over the Oxford student dubbed ‘too clever for prison’ grew today as critics claimed she would have been sentenced differently if she was a man or came from a council estate.
Lavinia Woodward – a medical student who hoped to become a surgeon – admitted stabbing her Tinder lover Thomas Fairclough in the leg during a clash at Christ Church college.
But after a judge took the unusual step of delaying sentencing so she could deal with a drug problem, she walked free from court on a suspended sentence yesterday.
Campaigners today claimed she was treated sympathetically by the justice system because of her background, while others claimed the case showed the difference between the sentencing of men and women.
Lavinia Woodward smiles as she leaves court yesterday. The case has caused controversy with critics saying she appears to have been treated leniently because she is a wealthy woman
Woodward (pictured here on a night out) wept as the judge handed her a suspended sentence
John Azah, chief executive of the Kingston Race and Inequalities Council told the Daily Telegraph: ‘If she wasn’t Oxford-educated, if she came from a deprived area, I don’t think she would have got the same sentence and been allowed to walk free.’
Mark Brooks, chairman of the ManKind Initiative, which support male victims of domestic abuse, said the sentence ‘sends a worrying message’.
He added: ‘The judge seems to think that domestic abuse, when it is committed by a woman against a man, is not as serious as it rightly is when it is the other way round.’
Woodward, 24, left Mr Fairclough, 25, needing stitches in his leg after stabbing him with a breadknife in a row over her drink problem.
Woodward also cut Mr Fairclough’s fingers and hurled a laptop, a glass and a jam jar at him during the clash, prompting him to call the police as he struggled to disarm her.
Milan-based Woodward admitted unlawful wounding at Oxford Crown Court after the incident last December, but found herself at the centre of controversy when her sentencing judge hinted she would avoid jail because of her ‘extraordinary’ intelligence.
Woodward (pictured left and right) looked relieved as she left Oxford Crown Court this afternoon with a suspended sentence
Although the violent offence would normally attract a jail term, Judge Ian Pringle QC controversially said he did not want to damage her ‘long-held desire’ of becoming a surgeon.
When the Judge Pringle told her she was free to go yesterday, Woodward mouthed the words ‘thank you’ and hurried from dock in tears.
The Dean of Christ Church College last night moved to reassure students who are unhappy with the college’s alleged inaction over complaints of bullying made against Woodward.
The Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy said: ‘We are concerned for the welfare of all our students, and it is clearly a matter of regret and sadness when any young person blights a promising career by committing a crime.’
He added: ‘Ms Woodward is not currently studying at Oxford having voluntarily suspended her medical studies.
‘The question of her future will now be decided by the university, which has procedures in place when a student is the subject of a criminal conviction.’
The judge suspended the term after James Sturman QC, defending, had urged the judge to give Woodward a conditional discharge due to her ‘unique vulnerability, remorse and good character’.
He said: ‘She can’t even go to a nightclub in London, she’s so recognisable.’
Woodward’s barrister said in an earlier hearing that her dreams of becoming a surgeon were ‘almost impossible’ as her conviction would have to be disclosed.
If she qualified as a doctor and applied for registration, the General Medical Council could consider her application.
However the body would have to pass Woodward as ‘fit to practice’, which it is unlikely to do, according to many health experts, regardless of her avoiding a custodial sentence.
The court heard Woodward would not be returning to Oxford this year due to her notoriety.
Woodward (circled) posed naked with her fellow students to raise money for the university’s LGBTQ society
The 24-year-old (shown left in an explicit picture sitting on the lap of a naked man) is seen arriving at court this morning
Her lawyer, James Sturman QC, said she was considering whether to do a PhD abroad or to look for a research role at another university.
Mr Sturman said: ‘She has a dilemma; the university remain supportive, they are here today. If she had gone back to Oxford, everyone would have known all about it.’
Describing the crime, Judge Pringle said: ‘Having met a few months before, in October 2016 you began a relationship with a student from Cambridge University.
‘Sadly, you were still suffering from the effects of a very damaging previous relationship with another who had introduced you to Class A drugs.
‘On December 30, 2016, your partner paid you a visit in your accommodation in Christ Church college. It rapidly became clear to him you had been drinking. He tried to discourage your drinking without success.’
The case caused outcry, with critics saying she would have been treated differently were she not a wealthy Oxford student
Woodward (looking glum as she arrives for her hearing) was previously freed and her sentencing delayed
The judge continued: ‘As the evening progressed, you became increasingly volatile. At one stage your partner contacted your mother over Skype in order to seek her assistance over what to do about you.
‘When you discovered this you became extremely angry, starting to throw objects around. It is clear from the transcript of the 999 call that your partner summoned the help of the police before you picked up a bread knife which was in the room and struck a blow with it to his lower leg.
‘In the course of the incident two of his fingers also received cuts. Your partner managed to partly restrain you, albeit you then started to turn the knife on yourself and he had to further disarm you to prevent further self-harm.
Victim Thomas Fairclough had attempted to tell Woodward’s mother of her problems
‘When the emergency services arrived it was abundantly clear that you were intoxicated, deeply distraught and mentally disturbed. You were taken to the police station in a very distressed state.
‘Fortunately the wounds your partner received were relatively minor. The two one-centimetre cuts to the fingers were treated at the scene and the cut to the leg was closed with three stitches.
The court heard she attempted suicide in police custody on the night of her arrest and was fired from a job she took at a shop in London 48 hours after being hired when she was recognised by a customer.
Suspending her sentence, Judge Ian Pringle QC told her today: ‘There are many mitigating features in your case. Principally, at the age of 24 you have no previous convictions of any nature whatsoever.
‘Secondly, I find that you were genuinely remorseful following this event and, indeed, it was against your bail conditions, you contacted your partner to fully confess your guilt and your deep sorrow for what happened.’
Judge Pringle added: ‘Thirdly, whilst you are a clearly highly-intelligent individual, you had an immaturity about you which was not commensurate for someone of your age.
‘Fourthly, as the reports from the experts make clear, you suffer from an emotionally-unstable personality disorder, a severe eating disorder and alcohol drug dependence.
The court heard Lavinia had been recovering at her mother’s villa in Italy since the last hearing
Miss Woodward (pictured) has spent much of her time at her mother’s Italian villa near Lake Como since her first court appearance
‘Finally, and most significantly, you have demonstrated over the last nine months that you are determined to rid yourself of your alcohol and drug addiction and have undergone extensive treatment including counselling to address the many issues that you face.
‘In particular, you have demonstrated to me since I adjourned this matter in May a strong and unwavering determination to do so despite the enormous pressure under which you were put and which has been referred to me by your counsel.
It emerged after her initial court hearing that she had already been warned by her college just two weeks before the September assault, following the discovery she had been taking drugs.
The 24-year-old posted on social media earlier this year that she had entered The Priory addiction treatment centre in Woking, Surrey, and is understood to be tackling her use of cocaine.
Woodward, who has an older brother was educated at The British School of Milan, formerly known as The Sir James Henderson School, where fees can top £16,000 a year and which is close to her mother’s £1 million villa in the Italian village of Sirtori.
College dean the Very Rev Professor Martyn Percy, said afterwards: ‘We are concerned for the welfare of all our students and it is clearly a matter of regret and sadness when any young person blights a promising career by committing a crime.
‘Ms Woodward is not currently studying at Oxford, having voluntarily suspended her medical studies.
‘The question of her future will now be decided by the university, which has procedures in place when a student is the subject of a criminal conviction.’
She was studying at Christ Church (pictured), one of Oxford’s most prestigious colleges
The court’s controversial decision caused outrage on Twitter, with many claiming it was an example of ‘white privilege’.
One user wrote: ‘Lavinia Woodward gets 0 jail time as it ‘might hurt her career’? Maybe there’s a good reason why drug addicted psychos shouldn’t be surgeons.’
Another added: ‘If Lavinia Woodward wasn’t a privileged white girl she would be in prison by now. you can ignore the facts but it’s true.’
Another user added: ‘Can we all just agree that if Lavinia Woodward was a man she’d be in jail for domestic violence with no prospect of being a doctor ever?’
Judge’s controversial comments sparked national debate
Judge Ian Pringle, pictured right, sparked a national debate about sentencing and the criminal justice system when he postponed Woodward’s sentencing in May.
The told Oxford Crown Court: ‘It seems to me that if this was a one-off, a complete one-off, to prevent this extraordinary able young lady from not following her long-held desire to enter the profession she wishes to, would be a sentence which would be too severe.
‘What you did will never, I know, leave you but it was pretty awful, and normally it would attract a custodial sentence, whether it is immediate or suspended.’