Crime and Punishment

Well it's time to begin with my first real blogger rant, brought on after watching a very touching and incredibly heartbreaking itv program named "someone's daughter, someone's son." This is a new series showing the damage caused to families and loved ones as a result of a murder.

Tonight's episode was about a young woman named Jane Clough, a nurse who was brutally murdered outside the hospital she worked in by the father of her 9 month old daughter.
This poor excuse for a human being named Johnathan Bass had repeatedly raped and attacked Jane, and after the threat of prison when Jane reported him to the police went on to stab her
As tragic as this story is the real thing which made me angry was the lack of care and consideration Jane recieved in the months before her death.
After reporting her partner to the police he was taken to court to be charged with the rape and evidence he had already been violent, along with being a heavy user of steroids, the judge saw fit to release John on bail.
This was undoubtedly the reason Jane is no longer alive, as it gave an animal time to build up enough hate to take action and end a young mother's life.
Not only this, but after Jane's death when John Bass was found guilty for her murder, the judge decided not to charge him for any of the rape allegations, the very reason Jane had found herself in the centre of such a nightmare to begin with.


This isn't the first time I have heard about the disgusting way victims are treated by our judicinal system. Not long ago I had read that Judge Peter Fox had rejected many different claims of sexual assault on young children, in one case giving a man a suspended sentence for assaulting three teenagers after the judge decided the victims were "silly."

There has been alot of talk lately of a petition on facebook which is trying to bring the death penalty back to england, and has naturally caused a fair amount of debate.
Personally I neither approve nor disaprove of the idea. In a case of a convicted premedetated murderer who was proven absolutely to be guilty, then a lethal injection seems a fair way to rid the world of someone who had caused terrible pain and suffering to others. I know if I lost a loved one to a murder and knew absolutely the killer had no remorse, I certainly wouldn't want them to enjoy the gift of life.
However I also feel that ending another humans life is never acceptable, and would provide no moral highground.


The thing I feel most strongly about is what should be done with offenders of smaller crimes, such as shop lifting etc. At present these people are either put in prison or into young offenders institutes where they are provided with food, water, a roof over their heads, plus access to xbox's, playstations and nintendo wii's, and in some cases even being taken on trips to theme parks.
Not only is this a MASSIVE waste of tax payers money, after all most law obiding people of this country right now can't afford game consoles or trips to theme parks, but it is rewarding bad behaviour!
As for the older offenders they will be sent to prison, where they will learn absolutely nothing, come out after a few months and then offend again.
Our prisons are overcrowded, dangerous criminals are being released early because there just isn't the room.


The solution, in my opinion, is simple. I believe all offenders of less serious crimes should be forced into some sort of military training, or indeed into joining our armed forces.
Many people who commit petty crimes such as shop lifting etc are inconsiderate toe rags who don't give two stuffs about who they hurt or the amount of money they cost their victims (I know this first hand after having my beloved vespa stolen by a boy just a year younger than me.) And I believe that learning discipline and respect, and learning to see exactly what real men and women do for our country.

Phew! Well that is the first of my very long rants! It is very difficult to stop once I get started :P Thanks to anyone who makes it all the way to the end!

Ness xxx