Judges sitting at Liverpool Crown Court have to sentence criminals for brutal, shocking and disgraceful crimes.
It's their task to summarise the offences and decide what is a fitting punishment, based on sentencing guidelines.
However, not all of the crooks who appear before them are suitably shame-faced or apologetic - far from it.
Occasionally defendants even make the foolish decision to question or engage in a war of words with "the beak".
Nine times out of 10 they come off worse and, in some cases, they are handed extra time behind bars.
Here are some of the best put-downs and sentencing remarks handed out by Liverpool's judiciary so far in 2020.
10. "You are a violent, selfish man."
Brendan Rawlins tried to strangle a young mum with his phone charger and held a rusty knife to her neck.
The 37-year-old broke into the woman's home and threatened to kill her, saying: "I'll cut you up and hide you and no one will ever know."
The thug was laughing as he made the threats and claimed he was going to cut her head off, before tightening the wire around her throat.
Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, said Rawlins also put the blade to the victim's neck and the petrified mum "could feel the cold edge of the metal".
She eventually managed to escape and ran to a nearby bed and breakfast, where she arrived "hysterical and crying", on August 18 last year.
Rawlins, of Brelade Road, Stoneycroft, denied any wrongdoing and claimed the woman made up the allegations because she owed him £60.
However, the crook with 15 convictions for 47 offences later admitted two counts of making threats to kill and one of a common assault.
Judge Robert Warnock described unrepentant Rawlins as a "violent, selfish man" who has "expressed no real remorse for what you have done".
He jailed him for five years and two months.
9. "You should all hang your heads in shame for what you put her and her mother through."
Callum Carr, Jack O'Connor and Lennon Lowry stole a Nissan X-Trail in a cruel burglary from a woman who cares for her elderly mum.
They were later joined by Callum Carr's brother Lewis Carr, when they robbed a 16-year-old boy of an iPhone he was given for his birthday.
But when they tried to escape police, officers used a spiked stop stick to puncture two of the Nissan's tyres, then rammed it off the road.
Photos found on Callum Carr and Lowry's phones showed them and O'Connor sitting on the car roof, making hand gestures and smoking.
And a shameful video on 22-year-old Callum Carr's device showed the laughing yob in the car, asking his gang: "Who are we going to rob today boys?"
The car was taken when the home in Rivington Road, Wallasey was burgled, at around 5am, on August 21 last year.
Lowry, then 17, drove it through the Wallasey Tunnel to a Shell garage on Scotland Road, where O'Connor, 18, stole £31 of petrol, and they sped away.
Joined by Lewis Carr, 18, they headed to Woodland Road, Upton, where they robbed the boy, at around 10.30pm.
The victim was surrounded by the gang, one of whom pointed his hand out in his pocket, as if he had a knife.
Police tracked the Nissan through the Birkenhead tunnel to Islington, where they deployed a stop stick, chased the car at high speed through red lights, then brought it to a halt on Islington.
Recorder Matthew Corbett-Jones said the burglary had a "profound effect" on the woman and her mum, who were grieving after the death of their dad and husband respectively.
The judge said: "Frankly you should all hang your heads in shame for what you put her and her mother through, by your appalling and selfish behaviour."
Callum Carr, of Amelia Close, Islington, was found guilty after a trial of burglary, theft, robbery and aggravated vehicle taking.
He was locked up for four years and 10 months, and banned from driving for 38 months.
O'Connor, of Bridge Street, Birkenhead, admitted burglary, theft, making off without payment and aggravated vehicle taking. He was found guilty of robbery.
He was locked up for two years and eight months, and given a 25-month road ban.
Lewis Carr, of Amelia Close, Islington, admitted robbery and aggravated vehicle taking.
He received 22 months in a young offenders institution, with a 20-month driving ban.
Lowry, 18, of Burns Avenue, Wallasey, admitted burglary, theft, making off without payment, robbery and dangerous driving.
He was locked up for two and a half years and banned from driving for 33 months.
8. "What you did was a sad, disgraceful attack upon the victim."
Drink and drug fuelled James Greaves reduced a woman’s face "to a pulp" in a sustained attack in his home.
The 39-year-old delivered a sustained and prolonged "kicking and beating" to his ex-partner after they had both been drinking and taking drugs.
Amie Clark had turned up at Greaves' address on January 20 and they had spent the day "taking nerve damage tablets and drinking alcohol".
On January 21, police officers attended the property in Pitt Street, St Helens after a friend of Miss Clark called them to say she had answered the door "covered in blood stained clothes".
When they entered the flat, they found Miss Clark lying injured under the bed covers, who told them Greaves had "kicked off for no reason whatsoever".
She suffered a "subdural hemorrhage to the right side of her forehead" as well as other head and facial injuries, plus bruising to her knee and spine.
Greaves, who admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm, had eight previous convictions, which included a 13-month jail sentence for assaulting Miss Clark.
Judge Robert Warnock told Greaves: "What you did was a sad, disgraceful attack upon the victim... you reduced her face to a pulp."
He jailed him for three years and four months.
7. "You appear to blame everybody but yourself for matters that are entirely of your own making."
Paedophile Duncan Johnson tried to rob Natalie Grimes' car at Asda Walton while her little girl was sitting in the vehicle.
The mum was unloading her trolley when he grabbed her by the throat and yelled: "Give me your f***ing bag and f***ing keys."
The evil sex offender swung a kitchen knife at the victim - slashing her coat - and chillingly warned: "I will f***ing kill you."
Her daughter, aged seven, screamed "my mum, my mum" as she watched the terrifying ordeal unfold from her car seat.
But the brave mum wouldn't let Johnson have her keys and the pervert fled, only to be wrestled to the ground by two heroes.
The pervert - who has 30 past convictions for 128 offences - struck at the Utting Avenue store on Sunday, March 15 this year.
Johnson, of Kelday Close, Northwood, Kirkby, admitted attempted robbery and possessing an offensive weapon in public.
He was on licence at the time, having been released from jail after serving half of a six-year sentence for sexually abusing a girl in woodland.
Judge Louise Brandon praised the men who "bravely pursued and detained" him and told the paedophile that the bravery of Ms Grimes was "in stark contrast to your disgraceful and shocking conduct that day".
She concluded it was premeditated and said Johnson had shown no remorse, telling him: "You appear to blame everybody but yourself for matters that are entirely of your own making."
He was jailed for six years, with an extended three years on licence.
6. "This was a wicked offence."
Michelle Eccleston snatched an elderly woman's purse as she returned home from her first solo shopping trip after suffering a stroke.
The 84-year-old victim was said to be making good progress until the heartless crack and heroin addict struck outside her front door.
A court heard how the cruel theft on March 11 had a "huge" impact on the fragile and vulnerable OAP - setting back her recovery.
Eccleston - a 38-year-old grandmother - was on bail at the time of the theft for smuggling cannabis into prison, for the second time.
She followed the OAP to her home in St Helens, at around 9.40am, and grabbed her purse, containing up to £100, but was filmed on CCTV.
Eccleston, of Brook End, St Helens, admitted theft and conveying a prohibited article into prison.
She was also caught on CCTV on August 28 last year, when she visited her boyfriend, Frankie Parr, an inmate at HMP Risley in Warrington.
Eccleston was seen to hug Parr then pass him a package, which contained 47g of cannabis in three half ounce deals, along with 72g of tobacco.
The mum of three adult children, formerly of Cranfield Road, Norris Green, has 36 past convictions for 82 offences.
Judge Denis Watson, QC, said: "This was a wicked offence, targeting such a vulnerable individual on the doorstep of her home as you must have realised."
He jailed her for two years and three months.
5. "It's hard to imagine any human being doing that to another."
Julian Hakim "potted" a female prison officer with a bucket full of urine and faeces from multiple inmates.
The vile inmate hurled the mixture over the woman, who the ECHO chose not to name, at HMP Risley in Warrington.
CCTV footage captured the horrific moment the contents landed on her face and she could taste urine in her mouth.
Hakim, 34, of Viola Street, Bootle, claimed he was told to do it by someone else and was "expecting drugs as a reward".
He was moved to HMP Altcourse after the attack at the shower block on the prison's E wing on October 10 last year.
Hakim, who has 49 past convictions for 105 offences including robbery, admitted administering a noxious substance.
He was serving a sentence for multiple thefts and claimed he had been vulnerable in jail because of events in his past.
Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, said: "It's hard to imagine any human being doing that to another, but it's something that is becoming increasingly common in our prisons and it's something that you did to a female prison officer."
He jailed Hakim for 20 months.
4. "For most right-minded people in society, burgling a hospital is almost unimaginable."
Kevin McMullen stole hand sanitiser, toilet rolls and chocolates donated to brave nurses and doctors at Alder Hey.
The serial burglar has a "horrendous" criminal record, featuring 82 past convictions for a staggering 135 offences.
He is subject to a 10-year Criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order (CRASBO), banning him from all schools, churches and care homes.
The 56-year-old is also not allowed to enter any medical facility, without first making his presence known to its staff.
But on April 7 - when subject to four suspended sentences, one for raiding a church - he targeted the children's hospital.
CCTV footage showed McMullen entering the building in West Derby to steal from the heroes of the coronavirus pandemic.
He was identified by police on the video and arrested at home, when officers discovered items seemingly taken from Alder Hey.
McMullen, of Lister Road, Fairfield, admitted burglary, breaching his CRASBO, and breaching four suspended jail sentences adding up to 20 weeks.
Judge David Swinnerton said McMullen's "horrendous" record included 42 burglaries and he had breached his CRASBO five times since 2012.
The judge said: "For most right-minded people in society, burgling a hospital and the staff part of a hospital is almost unimaginable."
He stopped to ask McMullen "are you listening?" as the crook slumped down in his seat, before mumbling: "Yes sir."
The judge continued: "It's abhorrent to all right-minded people that hospitals needs security because people commit offences within them.
"It's even more abhorrent when you do so at a time when hospitals are dealing with a public health crisis."
Judge Swinnerton said McMullen targeted the hospital and jailed him for 30 months in total.
3. "You are utterly self-centred"
Tony Gath threatened to blow up his ex-partner's family home after turning on all four gas rings on her cooker.
He was meant to go shopping with his partner in Wirral, before picking up their children from school and having them for the weekend.
But when she arrived at his Devonshire Road, Birkenhead home, she found the 38-year-old sitting in the bath, after an all-night bender.
She argued with Gath, who confessed he only got in at 7am, and when she left, he sent her a text threatening to blow up her house.
The dad-of-three then broke into the mid-terraced property in Darlington Close, Wallasey, sparking a siege lasting two and a half hours.
Armed police, firefighters and paramedics were called and Egremont Primary School was put on lockdown during the "terrifying" ordeal.
Gath - who has a conviction for grievous bodily harm against another ex partner - also threatened officers with a knife on February 28.
He gained entry by smashing a window - one of three he broke - then smashed the TV, slashed furniture and left stab marks in a wall.
Prosecutors said he told police: "I've lost my kids, I have nothing to lose, stay back or I'll stab you."
Gath, who has 22 past convictions for 35 offences, admitted threatening to damage property and affray.
Judge Thomas Teague, QC, said it was "an outpouring of self-pity" and "a display of immature, self-centred behaviour, showing nil regard to the welfare of anybody else".
He added: "You are - as I've already said it seems to me - utterly self-centred."
Judge Teague jailed him for two and a half years.
2. "If you had any remorse in your body you would have stopped taking advantage of elderly people."
Antonio Hall has spent nearly four decades stealing from vulnerable retired and disabled people across Merseyside.
He has 21 convictions for 42 offences and was described last month as "a distraction burglar who preys on the elderly".
The 53-year-old was released from jail in July 2018, midway through a seven-year sentence for 19 such burglaries.
But while on licence, he and an accomplice struck at the addresses of seven pensioners, aged between 73 and 95.
Police raided his flat in Longmoor Lane, Fazakerley last September and seized a fake ID card he used to dupe OAPs.
The brazen crook suggested he was "ashamed" and sorry to his victims for leaving them frightened in their own homes.
Judge Anil Murray said: "I don't accept that for one moment and I'm sure those are hollow words.
"If you had any remorse in your body you would have stopped taking advantage of elderly people a long time ago, but you keep doing it over and over."
Hall admitted seven burglaries and was jailed for eight years.
1. "Your attack on an unarmed man was an act of both brutality and cowardice."
Lee Abbott knifed pub landlord Christian Thornton to death after he barred him from the Hammer & Pincers in Widnes.
Sickening CCTV footage showed the drunken kickboxer pull a kitchen knife out of a rucksack and plunge it into his victim's heart.
The thug, whose blade snapped in half, later told armed police when arrested: "You don’t need any evidence, I stabbed him to f***."
But following his apparent confession, he decided to deny murder and forced the dad-of-three's family to endure a harrowing trial.
Abbott, 35, of Rose Street, Widnes, admitted manslaughter and possessing an offensive weapon in public on Sunday, August 11, 2019.
He had previously threatened to burn down the 49-year-old victim's pub, above which he lived with his wife, children and family dog.
The dad-of-two told jurors he was a paranoid "madman" who "lost the plot" after being sexually abused by a "gangster" as a teenager.
The ex-cocaine addict said he used to think he was Jesus and the attack was "a cry for help" and the culmination of "20 years of hell".
However, even his own psychiatric expert agreed he was not psychotic at the time and had no defence of "diminished responsibility".
And David McLachlan, QC, prosecuting, said he was "a master manipulator" who was "simply trying his best to get away with murder."
After a jury found Abbott guilty of murder, Judge Brian Cummings, QC, told him Mr Thornton "never stood a chance - you made sure of that".
He said: "Your attack on an unarmed man was an act of both brutality and cowardice.
"Your presentation at trial has been marked by narcissism, as observed by both psychiatrists, self-pity and deceit.
Can you help us keep Merseyside covered?
"Despite your protestations, I see no real evidence that you truly understand the devastation that you have caused."
Abbott was jailed for life, with a minimum of 28 years.
