Entertainment
24 Hours In Police Custody breaks viewers hearts after shooter struggling with mental health gets 22 years in prison
24 Hours In Police Custody proved to be a rollercoaster of emotions for viewers tonight with a gunman leaving viewers heartbroken after being ‘failed by the system’ with his mental health.
Justice McCann, 21, shot a 23-year-old man named Jakub at random in New Town, Luton – and was caught after CCTV footage filmed him in the act, with the weapon and clothing found at his home.
Refusing to answer any questions to the police, Justice took the investigating officers by surprise by appearing polite when they booked him, and didn’t put up a fight when he was arrested.
Later on in the episode, Justice was seen breaking down in tears, acknowledging that it must have been him on the CCTV footage, but he had absolutely no recollection of the shooting.
He explained that his ‘head gets muddled’ and he tries to curb it with cannabis, but sometimes suffers blackouts where he has no memory of what he does.
Pleading guilty to attempted murder, his lawyers later revealed that he had been in an abusive household since the age of four, and while social services were called, he was never removed from the home.
As a result, he started using cannabis from the age of eight.
He had repeatedly tried to seek help for his mental health with doctors, but never received it.
At the end of the episode, it was revealed he had been given a 22 and a half year sentence, and isn’t eligible for parole until 2035.
While all viewers acknowledged he deserved prison time for the offence, many felt sympathy for Justice and believed the extended prison time was harsh, considering a child rapist who appeared in last week’s episode only got 18 years for his crime.
They added both he and Jakub were ‘let down by the system’ who failed to get help for Justice when he needed and asked for it, which ultimately causing him to explode in this blackout rampage.
In a letter to the court, Justice wrote: ‘Nothing will ever justify my actions, or make them acceptable as nobody deserves to be put through physical or psychological trauma that I have caused in people’s lives.
‘I never intended to hurt him. None of what happened was his fault. Not only do I deserve to be here for my actions, but I’m also now able to get the help that I’ve been asking for.
‘I hope that one day, I can express my deepest apologies. In all hope it will help him to find some sort of peace of mind, and put him at ease.’
Jakub was left so traumatised by the incident he was left jumping when he heard post going through his letterbox.
He later decided to leave Luton, and return to his native Poland, despite growing up here in the UK.
24 Hours In Police Custody airs Mondays at 9pm on Channel 4.
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