OT: Jails to release hundreds of worst inmates
OT: Jails to release hundreds of worst inmates
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CarZee

Original Poster:

13,382 posts

287 months

Saturday 27th July 2002
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From today's Times-Online... (you need to log in)... www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-366612,00.html
quote:
NINE hundred of the worst troublemakers in prisons in England and Wales are to be set free after a European Court of Human Rights ruling.
Jail officials ordered emergency action amid fears that the Home Office faces multimillion-pound compensation claims from inmates held beyond their release date after their sentences were increased for bad behaviour inside.

The fiasco is deeply embarrassing for the Prison Service which knew two years ago when the Human Rights Act came into force that jail discipline proceedings were vulnerable to legal challenge.

Among those being freed are one dangerous category A offender and at least two inmates each from top security prisons who committed serious offences. No prisoner serving life for murder is being released but among those to be freed are some serving long sentences for serious crimes, including one jailed for 15 years for robbery.

Yesterday many low-risk, non-violent offenders walked free from prison but higher-risk prisoners will not be released until the Probation Service has completed plans to supervise them and make sure they have accommodation.

The freeing of hundreds of prisoners who have served beyond their release date will be complete by the middle of next week.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: “The European Court of Human Rights . . . found unanimously that a punishment of additional days breached Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to a fair trial) because cases are heard by a prison governor without legal representation.”

The court ruling destroyed a key part of the procedures under which governors acting as judge and jury in the 138 jails in England and Wales punish prisoners for breaches of discipline. Governors hold adjudications six days a week where they can add between one and 42 days to an offender’s sentence for bad behaviour.
Oh good. So what methods are left for imposing discipline in prisons now? Sounds like brutality is the obvious answer.

Another victory for the ECHR vegetablairians.. dont'ya just love it?

Mojocvh

16,837 posts

282 months

Saturday 27th July 2002
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just about sums it up.
Anyone else up for emigration before the whole place goes down the tubes????.

DrSeuss

323 posts

281 months

Saturday 27th July 2002
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Y'know, I'm glad I've stumbled across PH. Here we all are, living in a once-great country where it now seems that on an almost daily basis, new laws/rulings/taxes are brought in which punish hard work and success whilst rewarding criminals and the feckless, for whom life is an endless round of take, take, take and no give. And no-one seems to care...

Coming from a very ordinary working-class Northern background, and having flogged my guts out for years to work my way up to a position where I earn an above-average salary (but by no means a fortune), I'm thoroughly p***ed off that the Govt sees fit to help itself to ever-increasing amounts of my hard-earned and hand it out to any dole scrounger, pikey, economic migrant or compensation-seeking crim who fancies something for nothing.

I was beginning to think I was the only one who's worried about the prospects for the future of decent people in the UK. Try to broach this subject with most people, and they tend to just shrug and say, "It's just the way things are...mustn't grumble...". Aaaargh!!

So cheers to PistonHeads for providing an open and intelligent forum where these issues can be discussed properly and keep us all sane. Oh, and of course for standing up against the 'Speed Kills' mafia, soap-dodgers, Red Ken, and all the other assorted car-hating losers

Just to get back on topic, a good friend of mine is currently going through the process of applying to emigrate to Australia. I'll certainly be following his progress with interest - it's ironic that a country to which we used to ship our criminals now looks increasingly attractive as an escape route from all the scrotes over here!

hertsbiker

6,443 posts

291 months

Sunday 28th July 2002
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Dr, I agree totally. What can we do?

rgds.

JMGS4

8,870 posts

290 months

Sunday 28th July 2002
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REVOLÖUTION, bring on the guillotine!!!!!

nonegreen

7,803 posts

290 months

Sunday 28th July 2002
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I agree with the sentiments, but the real criminals are never brought to book. Huge quantities of parasitic civil servants waste out taxes. None of the liberal democrats have yet been jailed and greanpeace are still at large. Time we got our priorities right. I would be happy to let these buggers out of jail if they would contribute to society by at least killing a few bleedin environmentalists and BBC types.

cazzo

15,593 posts

287 months

Sunday 28th July 2002
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Great, now they have 900 beds waiting for that most viscous and foul criminal .... the speeding motorist (book me one with an en-suite and colour TV please)

>> Edited by cazzo on Sunday 28th July 23:05

Fatboy

8,246 posts

292 months

Monday 29th July 2002
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Does that mean they're going to release that looney Charles Bronson - he's only still inside for bad behaviour (killing a few other inmates)????

Edited to add:

It's absolutely F*cking disgraceful, how the F*ck are they going to maintain control in the nick now?????

>> Edited by Fatboy on Monday 29th July 11:45

plotloss

67,280 posts

290 months

Monday 29th July 2002
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Bring back hanging, its the only way.

Matt.

spnracing

1,554 posts

291 months

Monday 29th July 2002
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This decision was forced on the prison service by the ECHR, unless I'm mistaken it has nothing to do with the government?

Would a Conservative government have handled this differently?

wot323

10 posts

281 months

Monday 29th July 2002
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Let's take all these Do-gooder as and make em prison warders with these "people" they wanna release and see if they still think the same way!!!!!!!!!!

These people are all complete idiots who have now IDEA what real life's all about
(Feel a bit better now but I still wanna see one of them come face to face with 1 of these guy's down a dark alley )

CarZee

Original Poster:

13,382 posts

287 months

Monday 29th July 2002
quotequote all
quote:
Would a Conservative government have handled this differently?
Was it the Tories who signed up to the ECHR then (aka Social Chapter?) ?

IIRC they seriously resisted it and Blair signed up to it practically immediately he got into office...

therefore, if we had a Tory government, the issue would not have arose..

My recollection might be wrong though..

andymadmak

15,276 posts

290 months

Monday 29th July 2002
quotequote all
quote:

This decision was forced on the prison service by the ECHR, unless I'm mistaken it has nothing to do with the government?

Would a Conservative government have handled this differently?



I could be wrong here but isn't it the case that the only reason the ECHR has jurisdiction over this is cos not long after entering office Tony B signed up for a whole load of directives that previously we were exempted from?
( A decision that obviously had nothing to do with his lawyer wife simultaeneosly (SP?) setting up a new large law practice specialising in lucrative Human Rights cases....)
Of course I could be talking cynical bollox.
Appologies in advance if I offend....

Andy 400se

madcop

6,649 posts

283 months

Monday 29th July 2002
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quote:

Just to get back on topic, a good friend of mine is currently going through the process of applying to emigrate to Australia. I'll certainly be following his progress with interest - it's ironic that a country to which we used to ship our criminals now looks increasingly attractive as an escape route from all the scrotes over here!




Two of my colleagues have just gone as they cannot stand it here any longer. One showed me the form. It states as one of the relevant questions.

a) Have you any criminal convictions?

I told him to reply " I didn't realise this was still a requirement" !!

He got in though so he probably didn't

DrSeuss

323 posts

281 months

Monday 29th July 2002
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quote:

Have you any criminal convictions?

I told him to reply " I didn't realise this was still a requirement" !!

He got in though so he probably didn't



I'll pass that one on to my mate! That form makes sense though, doesn't it? Points-scoring system according to your age, profession, ability to speak English etc - don't get enough points, or fail the medical, and it's thanks but no thanks. Makes you wonder why our system seems so long and drawn out, doesn't it?

dennisthemenace

15,605 posts

288 months

Monday 29th July 2002
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they are proberbly clearing out the prisons to make way for the far more dangerous speeders

gnomesmith

2,458 posts

296 months

Monday 29th July 2002
quotequote all
quote:

This decision was forced on the prison service by the ECHR, unless I'm mistaken it has nothing to do with the government?

Would a Conservative government have handled this differently?



We have a long standing British legal system that also requires trial before sentence, is it right that the civil servants so often disparaged in these threads can just make up the rules as they go along or should we have a proper system? Doesn't seem much of a contest to me, introduce a system of legal verification of penalty sentencing and the misdeeds of inmates can be properly and consistantly punished, if that is what society demands.