A U.K. student who stabbed her boyfriend in 2016 can finish her medical degree before serving her 10 months in prison, a judge ruled Monday, claiming the student was “too clever for prison.”
Lavinia Woodward, 24, admitted to throwing a laptop at her boyfriend and then stabbing him in the leg while she was intoxicated last December. The Oxford med student claimed she was battling a drug addiction that began during an abusive relationship with a previous boyfriend, the BBC reported.
Oxford Crown Court Judge Ian Pringle sentenced her to 10 months in prison but suspended the sentence for 18 months, claiming it was a shame to “blight” a “promising career.”
“I find that you were genuinely remorseful following this event. Whilst you are a clearly highly-intelligent individual, you had an immaturity about you which was not commensurate for someone of your age,” the judge told Woodward Monday.
Pringle claimed there were “many, many mitigating factors” in the case, including that the injuries were relatively minor.
Ultimately, Pringle credited his merciful sentence to Woodward’s “strong and unwavering determination” to move past her drug and alcohol addiction. Her actions on the night of the crime were triggered by her boyfriend attempting to contact her mother about Woodward’s drinking problem.
Further discipline now falls to Oxford’s Student Disciplinary Panel, which reserves the right to expel Woodward.
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