Lord Phillips today claimed that Britain's prisons will be full of "geriatric lifers", and he blamed the automatic setting of minimum terms and mandatory life sentences for this.
What Lord Phillips has not admitted though is that politicians set these sentences in the wake of a number of geriatric judges setting ludicrous sentences which seemed to take little account of the seriousness of the crimes committed. In such cases people can lose trust in a legal system that seemingly fails to punish people or committing terrible crimes.
Personally, I support the minimum sentences and as a result I am keen on the Lib Dems new tougher policies which would mean that life would actually mean life in more cases. If that upsets Lord Phillips, then that is unfortunate, but listening to people on radio phone ins today, more people would support the Lib Dems tougher policies that Lord Phillips wish to simply let people out of prison just because they are getting old.
Remember Lord Phillips, they are in prison getting old because they prevented someone else from having the opportunity to get old.
4 comments:
As a liberal, there is a balance to draw. That said, crime should pay - regardless of age.
This is why Norfolk Blogger is my kind of Lib Dem - a heart as well as a brain. If you choose to murder a man, woman or child you deserve to be "a geriatric lifer". Yet another soundbite from the "always in the media" judge. For I much prefer the soundbites "murderer", "rapist" and "paedophile" - they have a more real ring to them. Funny how my TV goes off when the judge walks on. Well, he's had his first media appearance for 2007. No doubt we'll see him again come May and then August.
Neil, you are too kind.
I need to add you to my blogroll. What section do you want ? "Tory" or "Other blogs I read"
- Nich/Norfolk Blogger
Kind of you to add me to your blog roll. You'd better make it 'Other Blogs I Read'. If you put it under 'Tory' people will get the completely wrong idea about me.
Post a Comment