One year in jail is really pathetic especially since the prosecutors had a good case. Just makes the prosecutors look like lazy bastards who would prefer to settle rather then go to trial:
Queensland's attorney-general is considering appealing the sentence given to an American man over the scuba-diving death of his wife on the Great Barrier Reef in 2003.
David Gabriel Watson, 32, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years' jail on Friday after pleading guilty in the Queensland Supreme Court in Brisbane to the manslaughter of Christina (Tina) while on their honeymoon in north Queensland.
He had been charged with murder, to which he pleaded not guilty, but crown persecutors accepted the plea to the lesser charge.
Watson will serve 12 months behind bars before he is released on a suspended sentence.
Attorney-General Cameron Dick has asked for the sentencing remarks, and will consider lodging an appeal.
Shadow Attorney-General Lawrence Springborg has told the ABC the government should examine the Watson case.
"Obviously, the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) had decided they would enter into a plea agreement, and a lot of people will be shaming their heads, particularly the family of the victim,'' he said.
US authorities have expressed their outrage over the leniency of the sentence.
They will travel to Australia to appeal against the leniency of the sentence handed to a man who admitted drowning his bride during their Great Barrier Reef honeymoon.
Tina Watson drowned on October 23, 2003, while on a scuba diving adventure with her husband, off Townsville.
Watson was charged with her murder but made a shock deal with prosecutors on Friday, agreeing to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. He will have to serve only 12 months of a 4½ year sentence, less the time he has already served.
Alabama's Attorney-General, Troy King, will lead a mission to Queensland to lobby for an appeal, his office told The Sun-Herald yesterday. If that isn't successful, he will push "America's legal boundaries to the limit" and attempt to charge Watson with murder, for the second time, when he is deported back to the US upon his release.
Tomorrow Mr King will write to the Townsville Supreme Court and Queensland Attorney-General, Cameron Dick, to express his disappointment with the Australian legal system.
The letter will state: "On behalf of the victim's family, I am respectfully requesting that this Honorable Court grant an appeal for re-sentencing of the defendant. I stand ready to appear in front of this Honorable Court if you so desire."
Alabama's assistant attorney-general, Don Valeska, said: "I don't wish to throw stones at the Australian prosecutors but they spent hundreds of hours on this and told me personally they had a very strong case. It now seems Tina's parents made a huge mistake letting them handle this. What were they thinking? Had we known Watson was only going to get a year, we would have begged the prosecutors to drop all charges and send him back to America.
"It is a fact that he would have received at least 20 years here, probably life without parole, because we can demonstrate he killed for the money."
Mr Dick said yesterday in a statement Queensland would "explore every option appropriate in these circumstances".
"I am requesting the sentencing remarks for the case handed down yesterday, with a view to considering an appeal," he said.
Underwater footage taken during Mrs Watson's fatal dive showed her husband swimming away while she sank to the ocean floor.
Watson, a rescue diver, told authorities his wife panicked underwater. He said she was too heavy to drag to the surface so he raced off for help. He later changed details of his account when quizzed by police.
An autopsy failed to find any pre-existing medical condition to explain her death, and tests proved there was nothing wrong with her diving gear.
Dive killer faces US jail
Queensland's attorney-general is considering appealing the sentence given to an American man over the scuba-diving death of his wife on the Great Barrier Reef in 2003.
David Gabriel Watson, 32, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years' jail on Friday after pleading guilty in the Queensland Supreme Court in Brisbane to the manslaughter of Christina (Tina) while on their honeymoon in north Queensland.
He had been charged with murder, to which he pleaded not guilty, but crown persecutors accepted the plea to the lesser charge.
Watson will serve 12 months behind bars before he is released on a suspended sentence.
Attorney-General Cameron Dick has asked for the sentencing remarks, and will consider lodging an appeal.
Shadow Attorney-General Lawrence Springborg has told the ABC the government should examine the Watson case.
"Obviously, the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) had decided they would enter into a plea agreement, and a lot of people will be shaming their heads, particularly the family of the victim,'' he said.
US authorities have expressed their outrage over the leniency of the sentence.
They will travel to Australia to appeal against the leniency of the sentence handed to a man who admitted drowning his bride during their Great Barrier Reef honeymoon.
Tina Watson drowned on October 23, 2003, while on a scuba diving adventure with her husband, off Townsville.
Watson was charged with her murder but made a shock deal with prosecutors on Friday, agreeing to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. He will have to serve only 12 months of a 4½ year sentence, less the time he has already served.
Alabama's Attorney-General, Troy King, will lead a mission to Queensland to lobby for an appeal, his office told The Sun-Herald yesterday. If that isn't successful, he will push "America's legal boundaries to the limit" and attempt to charge Watson with murder, for the second time, when he is deported back to the US upon his release.
Tomorrow Mr King will write to the Townsville Supreme Court and Queensland Attorney-General, Cameron Dick, to express his disappointment with the Australian legal system.
The letter will state: "On behalf of the victim's family, I am respectfully requesting that this Honorable Court grant an appeal for re-sentencing of the defendant. I stand ready to appear in front of this Honorable Court if you so desire."
Alabama's assistant attorney-general, Don Valeska, said: "I don't wish to throw stones at the Australian prosecutors but they spent hundreds of hours on this and told me personally they had a very strong case. It now seems Tina's parents made a huge mistake letting them handle this. What were they thinking? Had we known Watson was only going to get a year, we would have begged the prosecutors to drop all charges and send him back to America.
"It is a fact that he would have received at least 20 years here, probably life without parole, because we can demonstrate he killed for the money."
Mr Dick said yesterday in a statement Queensland would "explore every option appropriate in these circumstances".
"I am requesting the sentencing remarks for the case handed down yesterday, with a view to considering an appeal," he said.
Underwater footage taken during Mrs Watson's fatal dive showed her husband swimming away while she sank to the ocean floor.
Watson, a rescue diver, told authorities his wife panicked underwater. He said she was too heavy to drag to the surface so he raced off for help. He later changed details of his account when quizzed by police.
An autopsy failed to find any pre-existing medical condition to explain her death, and tests proved there was nothing wrong with her diving gear.
Dive killer faces US jail
