#The Sophie Lancaster Foundation
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15 Years Since Sophie Passed.
Since it's 15 years since the death of Sophie Lancaster, here's the feature I wrote for university on her killer being released from his life sentence.
TW: Hate Crime/Murder.
Sophie Lancaster and Robert Maltby were walking back from a friend’s house in Bacup, Lancashire when Ryan Herbert and a group of his friends decided to call an attack on the two. Why? Because they were goths.
Maltby suffered serious wounds after being kicked in the head. The attack then turned to Sophie Lancaster as she held her boyfriend while he bled. Her attack resulted in death.
Earlier this year, the parole board made the decision to release 30-year-old Ryan Herbert from his life-sentence, just fifteen years after the sentence.
Paramedics at the time described the injuries as being so bad, they ‘could not tell which sex either were’, and Sophie allegedly had a ‘clear footpath’ on her face. Both were beaten until they were no longer conscious.
Maltby woke up a week after the attack. Sophie died from her wounds after two weeks.
Lancaster and Maltby’s friends had described them as ‘law-abiding’ when describing their characters, proving that they would not have done anything to aggravate their attackers.
A witness recalled hearing someone call “Let’s bang him” before the attack took place. Herbert was just 16 years at the time. One of his accomplices, Brendan Harris, was just 15 years old.
The court hearing took place on 28th April 2008 at Preston Crown Court. Harris was given a minimum of 18 years for his part in the murder while Herbert was sentenced to life in prison.
In 2009, Sophie’s mother, Sylvia Lancaster, launched The Sophie Lancaster Foundation. The charity sets out to educate and raise awareness in a bid for a change to be made to laws surrounding hate crimes. She would move around schools and events, telling Sophie’s story and educating generations young and old, in hopes to create tolerance and change.
In 2013, police began to treat the attacks on subcultures such as goths as a hate crime and respond the way they would with crime against race or sexuality.
In 2014, Sylvia was awarded an OBE for her work against hate crimes.
Ryan Herbert had been described as having an ‘anti-social lifestyle’ at the time of the attack. His group of friends were negatively influencing him.
Throughout his prison sentence, professionals say that he had shown full engagement with his resettlement activities and had a positive working relationship with the staff involved with his case. The professionals have no concerns about his release, which resulted in the decision to release him.
Sylvia Lancaster was less pleased to hear the news of his release. She wasn’t the only one.
I interviewed Kia Blackwood, a 22-year-old goth from Doncaster,
“It was a vicious attack that didn't need to happen,” said Kia. “It makes me feel so angry that the killer is going to be released as he gets to walk free but she doesn't. I don't feel as if he's served enough time as he brutally attacked someone because of the way they look, he definitely should have got life. With the killer being released more and more people are gonna be afraid to walk the streets just because of how they look.”
I asked Kia if she felt safe going out dressed as her gothic self.
“Sometimes I feel unsafe sometimes going out fully dressed as there's always people giving you dirty looks or talking to their friends about you, who's to say they won't attack you like Sophie's killer did? I have never once been the victim of violence for dressing the way I do but other people have and it's disgusting behaviour.”
The release of Ryan Herbert has ignited anger within the goth community. As Sylvia Lancaster says in a statement on the foundation’s website,
“Once again, we have a justice system that fails to deliver justice... The judge at the murder trial described the attack on Sophie as ‘feral’, with the attackers’ behaviour ‘savage and merciless’... However, they have progressed, the minimum justice for the family is them serving the sentence they were given. Her attackers may not have been given a life sentence, but I have.”
Sylvia Lancaster passed away shortly after, on 12th May 2022, after suffering from ill-health for the last couple of years. Her legacy continues with The Sophie Lancaster Foundation as they continue to spread Sophie's story.
#Sophie Lancaster#The Sophie Lancaster Foundation#journalism#hate crime#hate crime cw#RIP Sylvia Lancaster#RIP Sophie Lancaster
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Yesterday would've been the birthdays of Sophie Lancaster and her mother Sylvia. May they rest in peace
#Happy birthday Sophie Lancaster#happy birthday sylvia lancaster#rip sophie lancaster#in memory of sophie lancaster#rip sylvia lancaster#in memory of sylvia lancaster#sophie lancaster foundation#stamp out prejudice hatred and intolerance everywhere#black roses the killing of sophie lancaster#killer kids#murdered for being different#beaten for being different#beholder#never take us down#power metal#thrash metal#progressive thrash metal#vnv nation#illusion#synthpop#futurepop#ebm#industrial dance#progressive trance#epica#we are the others#symphonic metal
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Bloodstock 2022: More Details About On Site Food, Traders, & Entertainments + Pink T-Shirt Launched For The Sophie Lancaster Foundation
With a month to go, BLOODSTOCK’s taking a breather from bands this week to showcase the diverse range of traders, food stalls, drinks, on-site entertainment and other facilities at next month’s heavy metal weekender!
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#& Entertainments + Pink T-Shirt Launched For The Sophie Lancaster Foundation#Bloodstock 2022#More Details About On Site Food#Traders
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@DiaperedAlexa on X showing off her Christmas tree!
Her diaper is PRIDE 3.0 THE DIAPER THAT GIVES 5% of its sales to THE SOPHIE LANCASTER FOUNDATION who do amazing work with LGBTQ+ emergency housing, education and safe spaces and much more.
The boots and corset look like there from @dotty_after_midnight😈
Pride is available now shipping quickly, discreetly worldwide from:
Www.dottydiaper.co.uk
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Sophie lancaster, bullied for being a goth.
The alt community know this story, we all still feel raw from this and a lot of us have gone into hiding after this story broke the news.
I was severely bullied in and out of school, online, by 'friends' i couldn't escape it, my heart dropped when she died i always wanted friends like sophie as she looked full of life and she was just awesome. But for the chavs to kill her and take her away from her family and friends is damn disgusting. I am a massive supporter for the sophie lancaster foundation as i was also bullied for being different and i was driven to ending my own life from it, my school did nothing and my friends werent supportive atall.
Now i am 30 and i am still the same as i was when i was 13, i know i'm different i love gothic, witchy, stuff it just speaks me as its what i know and its what I'm most comfortable with. Now i have a son i will teach him right and wrong and yea i will tell him about this story and my own, because he can be whatever he wants to be, and he can see the difference with bullying as well and stop it. i dont care what people think of me im stronger and tougher now then i was at 13/14 i will stand up for my community i will stand up for myself i will show my son what it is like to stand your ground.
R.I.P Beautiful girl we all miss you dearly xx
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Hey Tea dragon Crew, Camander_dante has filled the bucket and he is going live https://twitch.tv/camander_dante ! get to your battle stations #starfield #gameing #smallstreamer let’s fundraise for the Sophie Lancaster foundation
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Come and watch me sing in pubic at Duffy’s Tavern on Saturday the 25th for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation benefit concert! 🤘✨💖⚡️
#music#live music#singing#introvert#extrovert#singer#indie bands#rock#punk#glam#cats#memes#bands#sophie lancaster#charity#concerts#indie#indie artist#canadian
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Sophie Lancaster
Heute vor 16 Jahren starb Sophie Lancaster, nachdem sie am 11. August 2007 zusammen mit ihrem Freund von 5 Jugendlichen überfallen und brutal zusammengeschlagen wurde.
Warum? Wegen ihres Aussehens.
Wegen ihres Aussehens.
Weil sie so war, wie sie war.
Das macht mich unfassbar wütend.
Hassverbrechen gehen uns alle an. Ich hoffe, dass in den Schulen weltweit mittlerweile Toleranz als Pflichtfach eingeführt wurde.
Hier geht es zur Sophie Lancaster Foundation: https://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com/
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NEW SINGLE : SKYND share new single/video "Robert Hansen"; UK tour announced
TRUE CRIME DUO SKYND RELEASE NEW SINGLE & VIDEO “ROBERT HANSEN“
BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL THIS WEEK
SKYND CALLS ON FANS TO WEAR PINK IN SUPPORT OF THE SOPHIE LANCASTER FOUNDATION – SEE MESSAGE ON FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM
UK HEADLINE TOUR ANNOUNCED
Industrial-tinged and true crime-inspired electronic duo SKYND is the dark creative outlet and the alter ego of its lead singer, Skynd, and producer and…
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Today marks the 15th anniversary of the tragic death of Sophie Lancaster after being in a coma for nearly 2 weeks, following a brutal attack by some thugs, just because they personally didn't like the way that she and her boyfriend were dressed
#rip Sophie Lancaster#stamp out prejudice hatred and intolerance everywhere#in memory of sophie lancaster#Sophie Lancaster foundation#delain#we are the others#vnv nation#illusion#beholder#never take us down#black roses the killing of sophie lancaster#and she cried#murdered for being different#beaten for being different
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Posting this, in tribute to Sophie and Robert, on World Goth Day.
The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, set up after Sophie's murder, focuses on creating respect for and understanding of subcultures in our communities.
#world goth day#sophie lancaster#drama#true story#murdered for being different#discrimination#hate crime#goths#uk#robert maltby#violence#prejudice#the Sophie lancaster foundation#subcultures#nico mirallegro#Abigail lawrie
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It's Pride Month, but PRIDE is not just a month.
PRIDE is a movement that goes on 365 days a year.
All PRIDE products we sell help us give 5% of all sales to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation all year round to help with lgbtq+ education, crisis support, and emergency rehousing.
PRIDE is Not Just a One-Month Celebration for us. It's a Priority All Year Long, and we THANK YOU for helping us support charities for 6 years now.
Team Dotty
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The right to be you is not always obvious to some people. This lead to the tradgic death of Sophie Lancaster 11 years ago. May you rest in peace, precious dark soul. Yesterday, on thy death day, I gothed up for you
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Hey Tea dragon Crew, Camander_dante has filled the bucket and he is going live https://twitch.tv/camander_dante ! get to your battle stations #chainmail #chainjewellery #handmade #handcrafted #Neurodivergent #goth #smallstreamer let’s fundraise for the Sophie Lancaster foundation
#pansexual#nurodivergent#chainmaillejewelry#chainmail#jewellery#handcrafted#handmade#chainmaille#goth
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Coming up on Saturday the 25th! We rock Duffy’s Tavern for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation! Come out and rock for the cause!⚡️💖
#rockandroll#indieartist#singer#indiemusic#indiemusician#indiebands#punkrock#localmusic#glamrock#music#charity#concerts#events#live music
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For my birthday this year, I’d like to see if we can put together at least a hundred quid for a charity that promotes understanding between subcultures. If everyone I’m connected to on social media gave a quid (£1) we’d have this covered by tea time.
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