Taking The Prison Bus
I have joked that the 274 bus, is the prison bus for Pentonville a few times, as it always seems to drop of and pick up unfortunate wives, partners and girl-friends in the vicinity of the prison.
I took the bus back to The Angel, so I could get some shopping before coming home.
What surprised me was outside the prison, I was getting a rather strong Wi-fi signal. Was it escaping?
Hoist By His Own Petard
I’m reminded of one of my father’s favourite phrases by this story about the leader of the English Defence League.
He can’t really complain about his punishment, as I thought the EDL wanted to keep unwanted immigrants out of the country. So what were the Americans doing? Just that, when he tried to get there using someone else’s passport.
A Tale Of Two Young Women
Today we had the good news of Malala Yousafzai leaving hospital after being shot by the Taleban in Pakistan for speaking up for the education of girls.
But the student, who was raped and murdered in India hasn’t been as lucky. The latest news is here on the BBC.
What is it in the sub-continent about their attitude to women and girls?
But saying that, there is a surprisingly large number of Asian men in jail in the UK for sex offences.
How Not To Run A Prison System
This story from the United States is terrible.
I’m not saying, rape of women prisoners doesn’t go on in other countries, but you rarely here of it in Europe. I seem to vaguely remember, that when C used to visit HMP Holloway in the 1960s and 70s, that she told a story of a prisoner, who got pregnant.
I also think there are some countries in Europe, where few women are incarcerated.
The United States should bring its Justice and Prison up to the standards of the civilised world.
The Prisons Don’t Get Any Better
This story from the BBC shows that in the fifty years since C first got involved with prisons, that the same mistakes are still being made. This is just one extract.
The HM Inspectorate of Prisons found the lack of support for foreign national prisoners “a matter of great concern”.
In one case, it was discovered that a foreign national had been detained for nine years after the date his sentence ended.
This is sheer incompetence and how much as it cost and will cost taxpayers.
Should Prisoners Get The Vote?
After hearing from a European legal commentator who said it would cost millions if they didn’t, prisoners certainly should get the vote. It would be the cheapest option. What constituency they would vote in is another matter.
I would prefer that they all voted in one special constituency. This might mean they got some complete lunatic elected, who would give us all a good laugh.
On the other hand, how many of the 80,000 prisoners would actually bother to vote? Probably more than we think, as it might mean they got extra time out of their cells.
Berlusconi Found Guilty
Berlusconi has been found guilty and sentenced to time in jail.
Perhaps he should serve it in a womens’ prison.
The Silliest Legal Case In The World
The BBC is reporting that the Naked Rambler has been released from prison. He is now walking somewhere around Scotland in the nude.
It must be the silliest legal case because it’s been going on for years now. The article contains this comment.
John Scott QC, chair of the Howard League for Penal Reform in Scotland, says the bill to keep Gough in prison for so long must have reached hundreds of thousands of pounds. It costs about £40,000 a prisoner a year, rising when an inmate is separated from others, and when he is repeatedly discharged and readmitted.
It’s funny, but why was he not arrested in England, but is having so much trouble in Scotland?
Perhaps he could be persuaded to walk somewhere else like North Norway or the Sahara Desert. Now that would be a naked challenge!
Or could the Scots not deport him to England and ban him from going north of the border!
Why No Flooded Prisons?
In all the rain we’ve had lately, I can’t remember any cases of prisons being flooded.
Does this mean that we are more careful where we site prisons than new homes?
Surely the same rules should apply.
Ian Brady
The lead story on the BBC is Ian Brady. Why are the news media and the public so obsessed with this gruesome man?
He should just be left to rot in his cell. And when he does die, the story should be given little publicity.
I know it’s bad for the mother of his still undiscovered victim, but nothing will bring the victim back and it just makes it so much worse for all the others in the area, who lost a child to Brady or might have.
I speak as someone, who lost a son prematurely to pancreatic cancer. That is in many ways different. but I do feel guilty at times, that I didn’t do more to stop him smoking and get properly medically tested when his health started to go downhill. Now he’s gone, there’s just a big hole in my life!
Strangely, the case could be an argument against the death penalty. If Brady had been hung, there would now be no chance of recovering Keith Bennett’s body. On the other hand, Brady is now 74, so he’s been lucky in some ways to still be on this world.
The phone-in on BBC Radio 5 will probably about Ian Brady and/or the death penalty. I’m going out to do something more productive.
The Anonymous Widower 