Surprised he may possibly face a prison sentence given how little that pussy country cares about crime or women/children victims.
Comparatively speaking, I can't argue that contemporary sentencing guidelines for violent crimes in the U.K., and, at times, the CJ system itself haven't caused me to drop my jaw more than a few times. I agree in many cases it seems the CJ system gives too much consideration to the rights/life of the criminals at the expense of the victims (a lot of U.K. citizens feel the same re: certain crimes).
The story we just had about the 33 y.o. previously convicted murderer on a "day pass" from his "Open Prison" who hooked up with then butchered his g/f the same way he butchered his first victim at 15? True schizophrenic or adept liar aside, that situation, along with a few others,
completely blows my mind. [exploding head smiley]
But, we have to remember several key points re: the U.K. justice system (ppl don't have to agree/care about them, they just speak to some of the "why?").
The majority of their sentencing guidelines are not out of line with other Euro countries. In some cases, they're
more strict than other countries, and depending on the case, their sentences have been comparable to our own.
The U.K. CJ system takes 'punishment with the goal of rehabilitation' very seriously vs. many of the 'punitive action over rehab' sentences we see here to keep offenders away from law-abiding society as long as possible. But for personal opinion, neither is ethically "right or wrong," they're just two different approaches to deal with the same problems.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we have to look at the history of "Crime and Punishment" in the U.K.;
where they've come from in terms of "humane" treatment of their citizenry. Anyone who knows anything about Crown history over the centuries knows the cruelty and inhumanity suffered by past populations re: the CJ system of the day. That is *not* a history the contemporary Crown wants to return to by any stretch of the imagination.
When the system works, I'm all for American Justice, and when it comes to violent crime, I absolutely want scumbag offenders away from decent, law-abiding citizens as long as possible. The "Rehab" system here sucks hind tit. I just wanted to lend a little perspective to a few of the "whys" behind the U.K. CJ system.
Any U.K. members, feel free to chime in. Naturally, you can do a much better job than I can.
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