WTF is wrong with our justice system?

[CQ]

A disgusting piece of filth known as a 'person' can rape a SEVEN year old girl several times, plead guilty, and doesn't go to jail, just gets a shitty suspended sentence.

WTF is wrong with these people???

What is going on with our 'justice' system?

[Triple C]

i wonder what the sentence would be if the child was the judge's daughter or close relative. absolute disgrace that decision was.

[Eunos]

It's time for mandatory sentencing.
The judges have shown they are no longer in touch with community expectations, therefore they cannot be trusted to impose the sentence the public expects.
Please tell me where the deterrrent exists in the sentencing that we have seen from the courts over the last month?

[Go_The_Mighty_Magpies]

Its a joke, today we watched a video in health about a woman who beat her 3 year old son over the head with a curtain rod and killed him and managed to get off.

Another man repeatedly raped his young daughter and was only sentenced for one year.

[Pa Marmo]

Bring back the death penalty I say and lets do it properly. I know the death penelty doesnt stop crime but it stops the one killed from offending again.

[Canberra]

The thing about the death penalty is you dont get many repeat offenders.

[London Dave]

[commonwombat]

Our upright and moral Nuxta wades into the debate with his usual intelligent and reasoned judgement.

One part of your comment intrigues me though. What do you mean by "lets do it properly" ??

That covers a multitude of possibilities.
Do you envisage the death penalty for all convicted of murder ??

Maybe a stern deterrant for those less patriotic and moral as your good self ??

Are you proposing that swift justice is good justice and appeals are just delaying God's justice ??

Or just maybe your comment may refer to some thought as to how and when such a penalty is instituted.

Hopefully the latter. Whilst there are individual cases that in most of our minds would warrant such a penalty, the big problem regards under what circumstances the death penalty should be instituted.

Mistakes and miscarraiges of justice in theis area are final and with no reverse ans sadly there are all too many cases in both the Eastern and Western world where the administration of this justice is very awry.

I ask just a couple of questions to our death penalty advocates.

Have you ever witnessed an execution ??

Under what circumstances would you institute the death penalty ??

Answer to no.1. None of you. I have had the misfortune to witness a couple in 2 countries.

With no.2, it will be interesting. It's all fine and dandy to articulate a whinge, but a somewhat different matter to come up with a practical and workable solution.

Some are no doubt calling me a pinko, bleeding heart etc etc. Not guilty. I'm just someone who works and gets his hands dirty in the justice system and sees its failings and weaknesses first hand, not thru the filtered medium of the media.

[Donny]

A pinko, bleeding heart wombat ??

I think you probably have been a touch too subtle with your opening line, wombat.

It could well be taken as a compliment by one such as nuxta who, incidentally, seems to have become decidedly unchristian lately.

L.D.'s point is pertinent. Perhaps nuxta would like to ponder sitting in a cell with a few hours to go to his execution, knowing he was either framed or simply not guilty of the crime he was about to die for.

Eunos, we have judges so that a lynch mob mentality is NOT what decides penalties.

[Eunos]

Magfan, I do not advocate the Death Penalty, so I don't include myself as "mob mentality"
What I advocate is that a crime has a pre determined penalty. None of this "He/she had an unhappy childhood so he/she picked up that knife and stabbed the victim 28 times" No "he/she was abused as a child so his/her actions against this child should carry leniency"

Pre-determined sentencing would have far more effect on the community than the current system.

[commonwombat]

Interesting comments, Eunos.

Mandatory sentencing and its likeminded counterpart, 3 Strikes, sound oh so very tempting to those wanting a nice simplistic solution.

All very well until it comes to implementation. The question is as to what really is the appropriate sentence.

A more practical solution is that of a set MINIMUM sentence, so therefore a judge has the room to manouver within the range, depending on the scope of the offence and level of culpability.

Have considerable agreement re the sob story angle. These can act to mitigate TO A POINT but unless it can be proven that they were not in their right mind, people make choices which lead to their offences.

These outside factors may provide an explanation as to why someone may behave in a particular fashion but it cannot excuse them.

[Pa Marmo]

Commonwombat...Let all things be established in the mouth of 2 or more credible witnesses. Pure and proper scientific evidence ie:DNA. Not reasonable doubt but factually guilty must be the finding. One week to make peace then execution.
Murder is murder no matter what you call it and the right punishment for it is the murderer should be put to death. Severe sexual offences should also be looked at.

Magfan8...said.It could well be taken as a compliment by one such as nuxta who, incidentally, seems to have become decidedly unchristian lately.

Please explain how in fact I have become un-christian as of late.

[London Dave]

[emdeem]

I too, would like to find out where nuxta has been unchristian.
Where does it say killing as a punishment is wrong in the bible?
Maybe somebody could enlighten me.

Does that mean killing in the theatre of war is wrong, I think not.
Please, please all you people who pretend to know the laws of the bible that they may have heard when they were in Sunday school explain to me were it is wrong to kill your fellow man under the duristiction of the law.

And don't give me the "Thou shall not kill", it is much deeper than that.

[Birdy]

I've never really been in favour of the death penalty because in a way I think it's a let off. The worst human scum should rot in jail, give them the rest of their lives to think about what they've done.

I'm pretty sure that studies have found no correlation between capital punishment and lower crime rates and you also have to wonder how many innocent people would go through the system. I remember reading somewhere that around 130 people have been released from death row in the US since the 1970's, having later been proved innocent.

For the really bad sexual offenders I would much rather see them thrown in with the general population at Goulburn so they know what it's like to be on the receiving end. Remember that Bilal Skaf creature? 55 years, now thats what I call a real sentence.