Do you want to discuss boring politics? (8 Viewers)

MalcSB

Well-Known Member
Anecdotal but a mate of mine was viciously attacked in the street in 2019 in an unprovoked attack. Fractured cheek bone, broken nose bad concussion amongst various other injuries and 2 weeks in hospital. Aside from the fact that it only got to court early this year the guy who was very well known to the police, has a history of violence including previous custodial sentences got a fine and community service, most likely because the prisons are full according to his solicitor. It was a serious attack that could have been much worse only 3 bystanders intervened, the guy was jumping on his head while he was already unconscious lying on the ground.

4 and 5 years for protesting seems out of kilter to me when you consider who isn’t being locked up and what they did. Punish them for sure but at least make that punishment fit especially when considering it to other far far more serious crimes.
The assailant of your mate should have received a significant custodial sentence. The fact he didn‘t is plainly wrong. The fact he effectively got away with it doesn’t mean that JSO conspirators don’t deserve their sentence.
 

skybluetony176

Well-Known Member
The assailant of your mate should have received a significant custodial sentence. The fact he didn‘t is plainly wrong. The fact he effectively got away with it doesn’t mean that JSO conspirators don’t deserve their sentence.
He’s not an isolated incident though. The whole sentencing system is crazy, especially the amount of time some people spend in prison for crimes relatively harmless when compared to violent and sexual crimes. If they’d shared sexual images of children for instance they’d probably have gotten 2 years. How are people protesting a bigger danger to society than sickos sharing sexual images of children?
 

CCFCSteve

Well-Known Member
He’s not an isolated incident though. The whole sentencing system is crazy, especially the amount of time some people spend in prison for crimes relatively harmless when compared to violent and sexual crimes. If they’d shared sexual images of children for instance they’d probably have gotten 2 years. How are people protesting a bigger danger to society than sickos sharing sexual images of children?

Yeah, the sentencing does seem a bit out of kilter for certain crimes. The prison system just doesn’t appear to work currently, whether that’s sentencing, foreign criminals not being deported, rehabilitation/ reoffending etc
 

CCFCSteve

Well-Known Member
It’s not the justice system has to be seen to be fair with some independence to allow for mitigation
It’s patently madness for the zoom meeting guys to receive 5years and a violent attack non custodial

Id personally rather a smaller initial custodial together with a significant fine covering costs relating to policing, damage etc and substantial suspended sentence as future deterrent
 

MalcSB

Well-Known Member
Id personally rather a smaller initial custodial together with a significant fine covering costs relating to policing, damage etc and substantial suspended sentence as future deterrent
So the policing costs were estimated at £1.1m and “economic costs“ at £765k. There will be other bits and pieces, let’s round it up to £2m. Where are they going to find £400k each, unless Dale Vince bails them out?
 

MalcSB

Well-Known Member
It’s not the justice system has to be seen to be fair with some independence to allow for mitigation
It’s patently madness for the zoom meeting guys to receive 5years and a violent attack non custodial
It’s not the zoom meeting per se, as you well know. It was conspiring to disrupt the M25.
If the zoom meeting had been to discuss pumpkin soup recipes, they wouldn’t have been charged.
 

Sky Blue Pete

Well-Known Member
It’s not the zoom meeting per se, as you well know. It was conspiring to disrupt the M25.
If the zoom meeting had been to discuss pumpkin soup recipes, they wouldn’t have been charged.
I know sorry it was to say what I was on about rather than diminishing what they’d done which was against the law and worthy of charging
It’s just the length which is bizarre
 

RegTheDonk

Well-Known Member
Ah, the article I read said it was for conspiracy and they were arrested for talking about it on a Zoom call. I stand corrected.
It's about examining intelligence and being proactive, rather than reactive. Not drawing a comparison on the actual crime, but should we also ignore information on paedophiles, terrorists, murderers etc. and wait until the act before they are arrested and jailed? Holly had a lucky escape!
 

Sky Blue Pete

Well-Known Member
It's about examining intelligence and being proactive, rather than reactive. Not drawing a comparison on the actual crime, but should we also ignore information on paedophiles, terrorists, murderers etc. and wait until the act before they are arrested and jailed? Holly had a lucky escape!
Minority report
It’s a really good point you make and it’s degrees isn’t it or should be
Is it a crime to think about committing a crime - don’t think so
Is it a crime to plan to commit a crime - yes
Is it a crime to actually commit a crime - yes and deserves a longer sentence
 

MalcSB

Well-Known Member
Minority report
It’s a really good point you make and it’s degrees isn’t it or should be
Is it a crime to think about committing a crime - don’t think so
Is it a crime to plan to commit a crime - yes
Is it a crime to actually commit a crime - yes and deserves a longer sentence
So they conspired to plan a crime which was committed, therefore by your standards deserving of a longer sentence.
 

MalcSB

Well-Known Member
Why should anybody have to pay policing costs - the police have an operating budget and their 'costs' will be absorbed by their budget.
This would have been unplanned expenditure caused by some arseholes holding up a major roadway. If the Met balanced their books, what other things did they not commit expenditure to. Car theft, burglary, shop lifting?
Anyway, wasn’t my suggestion, I’m quite happy with their mail time. It was CCFCSteve’s idea.
 

fernandopartridge

Well-Known Member
This would have been unplanned expenditure caused by some arseholes holding up a major roadway. If the Met balanced their books, what other things did they not commit expenditure to. Car theft, burglary, shop lifting?
Anyway, wasn’t my suggestion, I’m quite happy with their mail time. It was CCFCSteve’s idea.

All crime is unplanned expenditure
 

CCFCSteve

Well-Known Member
Why should anybody have to pay policing costs - the police have an operating budget and their 'costs' will be absorbed by their budget.

Thats like saying the prisons have got a budget so may as well send this lot down for five years ?! A financial punishment would be more logical than custodial in this instance…there is no ‘rehabilitation’ for them, it’s a pure punishment/deterrent sentence which I personally think can be delivered in better ways inc a substantial suspended sentence on top
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member
fair enough, I'll take your statement as fact over the response from the ambulance service.

I’m quoting from the guardian article
 

chiefdave

Well-Known Member
So what's the answer here? Surely nobody is denying climate issues but in the last couple of months on here we've had people against electronic vehicles, low emission zones, wave power, wind power, solar farms and against people who protest for action to be taken?

Are we just going to pretend its not a problem? I don't have kids and will probably just about get away without it having too much of an impact on my life as long as I can put up with the sort of weather extremes we currently experience. Surely anyone with kids should be massively concerned. Their lives are going to be hugely affected.

Are those who are currently against immigration giving no thought to what happens when countries and continents become uninhabitable, where are all those people going?

Someone mentioned acid rain and the fact you don't hear much about it anymore. Pretty simple explanation for that. Problem was identified, treaty agreed (Helsinki Protocol) and action taken. Same thing happened with the Ozone layer and the Montreal Protocol. For some reason despite these successes we've decided not to follow a similar route on climate change.
 

shmmeee

Well-Known Member
It's about examining intelligence and being proactive, rather than reactive. Not drawing a comparison on the actual crime, but should we also ignore information on paedophiles, terrorists, murderers etc. and wait until the act before they are arrested and jailed? Holly had a lucky escape!

Just not a fan of thought crimes TBH. And comparing protestors with terrorists pedophiles and murderers seems like a category error to me.
 

RegTheDonk

Well-Known Member
Just not a fan of thought crimes TBH. And comparing protestors with terrorists pedophiles and murderers seems like a category error to me.
I get that mate, I dare say all of us have at one point thought about doing something we'd never actually go through with... but they weren't thinking about committing a crime, they were planning for it. Sentence does seem harsh, though we're not privvy to any supporting evidence, we're only going with the zoom headline.
I did say I wasn't drawing a comparison.
 

Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Well-Known Member
I get that mate, I dare say all of us have at one point thought about doing something we'd never actually go through with... but they weren't thinking about committing a crime, they were planning for it. Sentence does seem harsh, though we're not privvy to any supporting evidence, we're only going with the zoom headline.
I did say I wasn't drawing a comparison.
If you were Just Stop Oil would you now tell everyone to get on Zoom and start conspiring? Clog up the system if the want to go after them all.
 

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