Police found the victim lying on the ground at 1am with a 4cm wound and collapsed lung
A Belfast woman who stabbed a man in the back was jailed for eight months today.
When she is released from custody, Shannon Marie Bacon will spend an additional 12 months on supervised licence. The 29-year old pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding and was handed a 20-month sentence at Belfast Crown Court by Judge Neil Rafferty KC.
As the family of the injured party sat in the public gallery, the court heard that at around 1am on October 4, 2023 police received a report that a male had been heard screaming: ‘Help me, I’ve been stabbed.’
Officers attended the scene outside a property at Mount Merrion Gardens in east Belfast and discovered a male lying on the ground.
He had a puncture wound visible on the right side of his back and was rushed to hospital where he was treated for the 4cm wound and a collapsed lung. Bacon, from Mount Merrion Gardens, was the only other person present at the scene and she was arrested.
After she was cautioned, she said she had stabbed the male and claimed she acted in self-defence. Regarding Bacon, Judge Rafferty spoke of her “unsettled” and “difficult” upbringing, her low IQ and mental health issues which have required hospital treatment.
He added that a Probation Officer deemed Bacon to be a “vulnerable young woman with complex needs” who required extensive post-release treatment.
Citing the use of the weapon was a “serious aggravating factor”, Judge Rafferty said: “Those who use knives in an assault must understand that the use of a knife in any assault means that it is more a matter of luck than anything else that someone does not die.
“One-stab death cases are common and that is why anyone who uses a knife in an assault must understand custodial sentences will follow.”
After he imposed the 20-month sentence upon Bacon, Judge Rafferty addressed prison staff and told them “take her in to custody.”
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