The Cost of the Death Penalty
I have an axe to grind over capital punishment, in that I think it’s wrong. Well not just wrong, very very wrong.
My main reason is that by taking someone’s life in retribution for something they have done, is just stooping to their level. We should be more humane than that. After all, dictators like Hitler were all for capital punishment, so that’s a pretty good reason too. And what happens with a miscarriage of justice.
But Parade Magazine in the United States has just published an article with a poll about the Death Penalty. One of the arguments in the article is that the death penalty costs more than life imprisonment. It is also a bit more convenient, if the judgement was wrong in the first place.
So vote early, often and many times.
Fined for Blowing his Nose
Michael Mancini has just been fined £60 and given penalty points on his licence for blowing his nose whilst driving. He was actually stationary at the time with the handbrake on and the car in neutral. Here’s what The Times says about it.
You can understand why the police are getting a bad name.
But it does seem according to The Times, that the policeman involved has form.
PC Gray earned notoriety for doling out a £50 fine to Stewart Smith, another Ayr man, who dropped a £10 note from his back pocket. Mr Smith was charged with littering.
I would suggest that PC Gray needs to be put on latrine duty or whatever the police equivalent of that is. The officer is a laughing stock.
Unfair Trials Abroad
My late wife was a barrister and I’m proud to have lots of lawyers and judges amongst my friends. If ever I ended up in a court in the UK, I would suspect that I’d get a fair trial.
But! Is it that way abroad? Just take the case of Garry Mann, which has been well documented by Fair Trials International. An English judge has said that his trial was a travesty, but now he will be deported to Portugal to serve a two year sentence.
And there is nothing that the English Courts can do about it, as our human rights have been signed away by this stupid government.
The Ban on Islam4UK
Organisations such as Islam4UK and all the other so-called Muslim organisations, that don’t like the way things are done in the Western World bother me. But then so do right-wing so-called Christian groups and also those fake religions and cults beloved of celebrities with too much money and not enough common sense.
Most preach fiery hate to unbelievers like me and say we will rot in hell. That by the way is impossible, as hell doesn’t exist, unless you are stuck on the M25 (put your favourite in here) at the time of a small bump, that the Police decide is worthy of an enormous investigation.
When these groups commit crimes such as murder, assault, kidnapping and extortion, then hopefully they will feel the full force of the law.
So why do they bother me?
Usually the charlatans at the top are clever individuals, who know how to stay out of trouble, by playing the law to the limit. There are a lot of extreme political organisations, which are just as dangerous and use exactly the same techniques.
But their followers are often not so bright and in some cases can easily be encouraged to do things that are very much against the law. These are the ones that do the damage and those that led them on have all the excuses ready.
So Prudence has decided for popular reasons to add Islam4UK to the list of banned organisations.
I’d rather have them out in the open, than as a secretive underground organisation.
I thought this might be a lone view, but read Martin Bentham in the Evening Standard tonight. Here’s the article.
Today’s ban on Islam4UK and its offshoots is certain to be widely welcomed but its impact is likely to be limited.
The reality is that Anjem Choudary, a lawyer proficient at staying in the bounds of legality, will continue to propagate his extremist message and, if anything, attract even greater attention because of the increased notoriety.
The previous ban on The Saved Sect and Al Ghurabaa was unable to prevent him and his followers reorganising under a different guise, and the same will almost certainly happen this time.
There is also the wider question of whether such an order is proper in a democracy. If extremists’ views, however abhorrent, do not breach laws such as those against incitement to murder and racial hatred, instead of seeking to stifle them it might be better to ignore them — rather than generating yet more publicity.
There is also one very powerful weapon that we should use against all of these people – humour.
Remember in the Second World War nothing was off-limits when combatting the Nazis. Just read this little piece about Spike Jones in 1942. We need him now!
All of these groups give splendid opportunities for satire, ridicule and just plain fun.
The Death of Akmal Shaikh
Akmal Shaikh was a man, who was caught smuggling drugs into China and has now been executed by the Chinese authorities.
But what makes Shaikh’s case even worse, is that he appears to have been a man with all sorts of mental problems, who was exploited by criminals. As the BBC report says.
Mr Shaikh’s family said he suffered from bipolar disorder.
They said he had been delusional and duped into a carrying a suitcase that did not belong to him when he was found with 4kg of heroin in Urumqi, north-west China, in September 2007.
His daughter Leilla Horsnell has said he was approached by drug smugglers in Poland and they convinced him they would make him a popstar in China.
Whether this is true or not actually makes no difference in my mind, as I am totally against the death penalty, as I feel that it is something that should be consigned to our more violent past. We just have to be a lot more civilised.
At least in Shaikh’s case the Chinese authorities haven’t harvested his organs for transplant, as is their normal practice.
The Tragic Case of Sam Riddall
Eleven year-old Sam Riddall was going home from church when he was killed by a car driven by Hannah Saaf. Today she was detained indefinitely in hospital, as she had severe mental health problems. The DVLA had revoked her licence because of this and the judge said.
You were clearly under the influence of cannabis, and you were doing so while driving twice the speed limit allowed. Finally, you left the scene having killed the victim. There’s no sentence a court can pass that will ever compensate for a tragic loss such as this.
He added that were it not for Saaf’s mental state she would have faced “a very substantial custodial sentence”.
The reaction of Sam’s father, Martin Riddall, was not one of revenge, but one of forgiveness.
In four days time we celebrate Christmas – the first Christmas without our Sam. It’s going to be very hard indeed because we still miss him very much.
The devout Christian added he would ask God to forgive Saaf for her “terrible” act.
I have no religion, but I feel that in cases like this revenge has no place, as what good does it do? I lost my wife to an aggressive cancer two years ago and no matter how difficult it is, I have moved on. In fact she told me to before she died.
I think though that we can all learn from Martin Riddall. My heart goes out to him and his family and I wish them well in the future.
Smoking in California Prisons
I hadn’t realised this but California is one of the few places where prisoners are not allowed to smoke. Or at least those who have been admitted after a certain day. A post on the Internet says that it has caused no-end of problems.
It now appears that they have now banned salt and pepper on health grounds.
As California has one of the highest prison populations in the world, these measures don’t seem to be too effective at cutting crime.
Cambridge Busway – The Real Winners
It is starting to be obvious, who are going to be the real winners from the Cambridge Busway – The lawyers! This article in the Cambridge Evening News opens with the following.
A major court battle is looming over the cost of Cambridgeshire’s guided bus project after contractors claimed it could cost millions more to build than originally budgeted.
Cambridgeshire County Council and the builders have been at loggerheads over the guided bus contract for years.
When they say major battle, that will probably be true as the busway was budgeted to cost £118.2 million and the contractors say it will cost upwards of £30 million more.
The lawyers are going to love this one.
I’m also glad I don’t live in Cambridgeshire, as I suspect the council taxpayers of that county will be footing the bill in the end.
Can this be one of the reasons why the busway was built? If it had been heavy rail, then the excess costs would have fallen on Network Rail, which would actually mean the government. Here Cambridgeshire get that toxic parcel!
And there is still no opening date for the busway.
Photograph a Chip Shop and Get Arrested
There has been a spate of officers arresting people for taking photographs in public. The Telegraph details it all here.
Here’s one example.
In the summer, Alex Turner, another amateur photographer, was arrested after he took pictures of Mick’s Plaice, a fish and chip shop in Chatham, Kent, evidently a building of great strategic importance to the jihadi godfathers in Waziristan.
As anyone who reads this blog knows, I take a lot of photographs. Perhaps, I should be hung, drawn and quartered for taking a photograph of a secret radar station!
The police should remember that they are a police service and they serve the public. How many people stopped for doing innocent things, will in future look the other way and ignore a suspicious package?
The Art of Brevity
It’s a week late, but I’ve just watched the last episode of Garrow’s Law on my Sky Box.
What fascinated me wasn’t the case, which was about the treason of Joseph Hamer, but Garrow’s method. At the start of the case the prosecution opened with a three hour speech to the jury, but Garrow just made a brief statement and sat down.
My late wife always felt that brevity was a weapon that was rarely used. But used well it could be the most powerful of weapons.
The Anonymous Widower 