Oxford student may be spared jail to save career

London, May 17

A British judge has deferred sentencing an Oxford University student who pleaded guilty to stabbing her boyfriend in a drug-fuelled argument, after remarking that the “extraordinary” woman might not be able to become a surgeon.

Oxford Crown Court Judge Ian Pringle last week put off sentencing 24-year-old Lavinia Woodward until September. He suggested he might not give her a custodial sentence. The Oxford Times reported that Pringle reasoned 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”.

Francis FitzGibbon, the Criminal Bar Association chair, said today that Pringle has given her a chance to address her drug addiction before sentencing.

Woodward, who studied at Christ Church College, Oxford, stabbed her Cambridge-educated boyfriend in the leg on December 30 last year following a row.

The pair had a drink and drug-fuelled argument, and Woodward punched and swiped at the victim with a bread knife. She then hurled a laptop, a glass and a jam jar at him. Earlier, Woodward, who currently lives in Milan, admitted to the attack. — Agencies