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James Mason - Source: ONE News -
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The father who has become the face of the smacking debate is now waiting to find out how he'll be punished.
Christchurch musician James Mason has been convicted of assaulting his four-year-old son.
A jury found Mason not guilty of assault for lifting the bicycles that his two sons were sitting on, and slamming them back down.
But he was found guilty of pulling his son's ear and punching him in the face.
Mason had denied all charges, but said he had pulled the four-year-old's hair and flicked his ear to stop him going back into a dangerous situation on his bike on the Bridge of Remembrance ramp in central Christchurch where the younger one had fallen and hurt his head.
The incident on the ramp had not been seen by witnesses at the trial. But they had told of hearing Mason afterwards, swearing and shouting at the boys.
The guilty verdict came as a bit of a surprise. Mason still can't believe he was done for assault.
And that was his reaction right after hearing the verdict.
"Dumbfounded, kind of a bit speechless actually," he said.
The jury had taken nine hours to reach the decision.
"It's like America isn't it. When it takes a long time it's always bad isn't it. You go oh damn," Mason said.
It's seen as the most significant case since the child smacking law amendment.
"It isn't okay to punch your kid in the face. It's not okay to flick your kid in the ear even if you are their parent under stress as he obviously was at the time. And we need to find better ways of reacting," says Sue Bradford, Green list MP.
Opponents of the anti-smacking law say it's a confusing verdict.
Bob McCoskrie of Family First says if Mason has been convicted of punching in the face then that's assault, end of matter.
"That's abhorrent for a good parent, no matter how stressful the situation. If he's been found guilty of pulling his child's ear in a stressful situation where he's trying to prevent further injury to the child then that shows what an arse the anti-smacking law is," says McCoskrie.
Even Mason isn't sure what the jury decided was assault.
"I'm not sure whether it was both of them, one of them, or the other one. I'd be interested to find that out," he says.
Regardless, he says his family is supporting him.
And while he's facing a year's jail time, the judge says he's most likely to get a community work sentence and a course in anger management.
Mason will be back in court next month for sentencing. His lawyer said she may seek a discharge without conviction and the judge agreed not to enter the conviction on his record in the meantime.
And for one father's take on responsible parenting you can see James Mason at home with his family on TV ONE's Sunday programme from half past seven this Sunday.
What are your thoughts on the verdict in this case? Share your views on our message board below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentGregglles said on 2009-12-07 @ 22:57 NZDT: Report abusive post
A law only works if it does what it intends to do. It may have been proven not to have had (too many) adverse side effects, but has it curbed child abuse?