Re: Sentencing determined by prison space not offence?

On 5 Dec, 14:51, mich...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Dec 5, 12:23 pm, Palindrome <m...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



Mike_B wrote:
In message <gWv5j.1999$_H4....@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Palindrome
<m...@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes
AlanF wrote:
From BBC News Website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7128181.stm
"Lord Carter of Coles will advise jail sentences in certain cases
should be given only if there are empty cells - in a bid to balance
demand with supply."
The mind boggles Judge - "do we have any space for Mr Jones"
Clerk "erh no my Lord"
Judge "oh to bad, well Mr Jones it seems it is your lucky day, you
had better go home and don't be a naughty boy again"
<as a country we have totally lost the plot>

It is quite common in some places for offenders to be given a prison
sentence... and a date to turn up. Or to be able to ask to defer
prison until after, say, harvest time or the end of the fishing season.

Provided the individual isn't seen as likely to disappear - why not?

Is it because prison is supposed to inconvenience people and if they can
pick and choose when to go in order not to be inconvenienced then we
shouldn't bother sending them to prison at all?

I think the idea is that the period in prison should be the punishment.

Not that one person should also lose his farm/fishing boat/livelyhood
and end up with his family on the street and dependent on state
benefits. Whereas another simply is better fed and houses for a few
days/weeks than he would be normally.

It is accepted that the particular additional impact of punishment can
be raised in court and taken into account when determining punishment -
a person dependent on his driving licence may keep it, whilst another,
less dependent, may lose his.

It seems fair enough for a defendent to ask for a jail term to be
deferred - if the immediate effect would be disproportionate.

--
Sue- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"It seems fair enough for a defendent to ask for a jail term to be
deferred - if the immediate effect would be disproportionate."

You're kidding here, right?

Defer a jail term or skip it if it's under 6 months? Oh Please!!

If a jail term could prove to cause detrimental affects to the persons
life or to that of their family or finances then they should have
given that a great deal of thought before committing whatever crime
they committed which landed them in front of the judge.

Let's see, OK, I am just about to commit a crime which will have a
massive impact on the victims involved and who's lives will be scarred
forever by my actions and just at that moment I realise that if I
commit this crime, my family will suffer masively due to personal and
financial implications of me spending time in prison.

Would it be fair to say that at that moment, if I choose to carry on
committing my crime, then I should NOT be able to use an excuse that
my family will suffer or I will lose my job etc if I get sent to
prison or can I go to prison in a few months.

Justice? Yeah, justice to the criminal and sod ever victim of crime!!

Michael Shttp://ukcreditsecrets.co.uk

I imagine that any prison sentence I'd have to serve prior to my
retirement would be a severe inconvenience to me and would have a
detrimental effect on my ability to support my family. I'd therefore
like any prison time I might accrue during my life to be deferred
until I'm sixty five. In fact, given the way things are going, we
best pencil it in for seventy and see how things go. By the time I'm
in my seventies, a roof over my head and three free meals a day will
probably be most welcome. Everyone's a winner!

Now, where did I put that sawn-off....
.

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