British justice sentenced Friday to four years in prison for " attempted theft " a forties who tried to seize a rare copy of the Magna Carta, founding text of modern democracy, kept at Salisbury Cathedral ( South West).
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Britain's Mark Royden, 47, had tried in vain to smash the window protecting the document with a hammer in October 2018, apparently because he doubted the authenticity of the manuscript. He had previously turned on a security camera so as not to be filmed, and set off a fire alarm to divert attention.
Visitors to the cathedral, including two American tourists, tried to stop him, but the defendant, who smelled of alcohol, threatened them with a hammer. He had fled before being arrested by a stonemason at the cathedral. " The Magna Carta is a document of enormous importance for our country and many other countries which share our democratic traditions ," commented judge Richard Parkes of the Salisbury court.
Signed June 15, 1215
The Magna Carta was signed on June 15, 1215 by the king of England Jean Sans Terre under pressure from rebel barons anxious to limit royal arbitrariness. The copy kept at Salisbury Cathedral is handwritten, in Latin, on a sheepskin parchment. Four copies of this large charter remain: two at the British Library in London, one at Salisbury Cathedral and one at Lincoln Cathedral in eastern England.
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According to the accused's statements to the investigators, " it seems that he doubted the authenticity of the Magna Carta, " the prosecutor said during the trial. The prosecution also noted that Mark Royden had already been convicted 23 times, including theft.
In defense, lawyer Nicholas Cotter pointed out that the accused had had a serious car accident in 1991, which had caused him brain damage. He is a " caring, kind and helpful man " but " devoured by demons ", especially drugs and alcohol, he explained.