In 2004, following a legal challenge by John Hirst, a man convicted of killing his landlady with an axe, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Britain's blanket ban on its prisoners’ right to vote was discriminatory and violated human rights. The then British government sat on it, hoping the problem would go away. It didn't. So in 2009, Peter Chester, a man convicted of raping and murdering his niece, launched a legal challenge claiming Britain's blanket ban on its prisoners’ right to vote was violating his human rights. Doubtless he wants to be one of those 70,000 prisoners who, unless we over-rule our own parliament and conform, may soon benefit from this so-called violation, costing the country something like £50 million.
Seems to me some of our prisoners have too much time on their hands! Can we not bring back hard labour and the chain gangs? Here are two men convicted of murder, who in committing their crimes immediately deprived their victims of every one of their human rights, demanding that they should be given the vote as a human right. What goes on here? Why have we allowed these criminals ANY human rights?
We may not like some of the laws we have to live by in a civilised society, but decent people obey them. Those who don't are guilty of violating society's rules - and if these people cannot live by our rules, I don't see a case for them living by our rights. It is only through obeying rules that we can enjoy those rights, we pay for them in that way, so we cannot have criminals, who choose not to pay the same price as us, benefiting from the same rights. Simples!
Perhaps the European Court of Human Rights should try visiting the planet Earth on which I live! For decades now we have been giving criminals more and more rights, making life more and more cushy for them, and giving them stupid things like theatrical courses to attend (that many of us could never afford!), all in the name of rehabilitating them. The result? The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 74% of those convicted of a criminal offence will reoffend, and more than half of them within a year. It sickens me!
If this country needs to save money, and it does, I know where I'd start! Bread and water, no perks whatsoever, and forced hard labour for any serious crime. This would decimate the number of reoffenders almost overnight. Only when those who obey the law live noticeably better than offenders will crime really not pay, and we shall all sleep safer in our beds!
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق