Sentencing in Australia is a disgrace

[Julia]

What price BIG, EMPTY, DISMAL detention centres?

The Man Of Steel Who Shall Not Be Named chucked loads of half-starved child refugees in 'em.

I can't for the life of me see why recidivist social miscreants can't have an extended holiday in 'em instead. The damned things are ALREADY built - and WAITING to be fed truckloads of society's trash.


aj

Completely agree. And without air conditioning.

 

[Calliope]

I can't for the life of me see why recidivist social miscreants can't have an extended holiday in 'em instead. The damned things are ALREADY built - and WAITING to be fed truckloads of society's trash.

The problem is that what we see as trash, our judicial system sees as treasure worth recycling...over and over.

 

[Happy]

The problem is that what we see as trash, our judicial system sees as treasure worth recycling...over and over.

Using a little bit of conspiracy therory there could be some self-interest in it.

More crims out, more trouble, more cases, longer queues, guaranteed job for yonks, good pay too and community respect.

You cannot ask for more!

 

[Aussiejeff]

Using a little bit of conspiracy therory there could be some self-interest in it.

More crims out, more trouble, more cases, longer queues, guaranteed job for yonks, good pay too and community respect.

You cannot ask for more!

I'm Happy to announce you get the Daily Lateral Thinking Award!

Indeed, what is probably the BIGGEST business in Oz?

CRIME!!!

Crime & Co. employs an awesome number of: Lawyers, judges, solicitors, police, jail wardens, journos, pollies, all manner of contractors & service providers and of course the BIGGEST employment category of all - CRIMS!

Yep. I'm with you Happy. We need to spend MORE on creating crime!! Anyone want to help me set up a MegaPonzi scheme? LOL


aj

 

[orr]

grammer, sintax, pro's, spell'n, general litracy, not just the sentancing

 

[MrBurns]

Child molestors get less than this in some cases, I guess thats because the judiciary are more sympathetic to child molestors than graffitti artists, perhaps because they identify more closely with them.

Sydney teenager jailed for graffiti

An 18-year-old woman with no criminal record has been jailed for three months for writing one word of graffiti on the wall of an inner-Sydney cafe.

Cheyene Back, from Daceyville, admitted using a black Texta marker to write "2shie", a word which was 30cm high and 60cm in length.

In the Downing Centre Local Court on Monday, Magistrate Ian McRae jailed her for three months, but another magistrate later granted her unconditional bail pending an appeal.

She pleaded guilty to intentionally or recklessly damaging a brick wall, the property of Hyde Park Cafe, between 11.50pm and 11.55pm (AEDT) on January 11, 2009.

The cafe is seeking $200 compensation.

According to the police facts sheet, Back had been with a co-accused, a 22-year-old man, and five other people when CCTV footage captured the man holding the marker and writing graffiti, approximately 50cm high and 70cm in length.

"The wording of the graffiti was unable to be identified," the facts said.

He was then seen to hand over the marker to Back, who wrote 2shie before returning it to the co-accused who wrote some more graffiti, again unable to be identified.

Police then went to the scene and arrested the pair.

Back's appeal is listed for March 4 in the NSW District Court.

Her sentence comes two days after the NSW government launched a new campaign to combat graffiti, saying it costs about $100 million a year to clean it up.

On Saturday, acting Police Minister Kristina Keneally said the government was cracking down on people who sprayed graffiti.

Measures were in place such as making it an offence for businesses to sell spray paint to people under 18 and giving police the power to confiscate spray paint from unsupervised juveniles, she said.

 

[cuttlefish]

Yeah this is ridiculous - no prior offences, 18 years old and she pleaded guilty. What a ridiculously harsh sentence when multiple offenders get good behaviour bonds for anything from break and enter to rape. She carried out the act with a male friend that handed her the paint - I mean she's 18, easily influenced and was probably trying to prove herself to her man. A better sentence would be to have her cleaning graffitti as community service work for a few months.

The judges are senile.

 

[Bushman]

Yeah this is ridiculous - no prior offences, 18 years old and she pleaded guilty. What a ridiculously harsh sentence when multiple offenders get good behaviour bonds for anything from break and enter to rape. She carried out the act with a male friend that handed her the paint - I mean she's 18, easily influenced and was probably trying to prove herself to her man. A better sentence would be to have her cleaning graffitti as community service work for a few months.

The judges are senile.

Please tell me she has not had a conviction recorded? That will ruin her ability to get work. Talk about a punishment completely out of proportion to a $200 crime.

Yet, in melbourne, there is a story about the on-going trauma of a family of lecturer (a Mr Cao) who was beaten to death by a group of cowardly thugs. The perpetartors sentence - two years in juvenile detention!! Two f'cken years for a man's life. I am shocked by the manifest inadequacy of that sentence. Apparently they had gone out looking for someone to bash 'who would not fight back'. The family's trauma has been amplified by the ridiculous sentence.

What value a 30cm grafitti scrawl, what value an educated man's life?

 

[MrBurns]

Yet, in melbourne, there is a story about the on-going trauma of a family of lecturer (a Mr Cao) who was beaten to death by a group of cowardly thugs. The perpetartors sentence - two years in juvenile detention!! Two f'cken years for a man's life. I am shocked by the manifest inadequacy of that sentence. Apparently they had gone out looking for someone to bash 'who would not fight back'. The family's trauma has been amplified by the ridiculous sentence.

What value a 30cm grafitti scrawl, what value an educated man's life?

I'm suprised there isnt more retribution.

 

[Aussiejeff]

I'm suprised there isnt more retribution.

That's because we, the people, have been suffocating & drowning in a sea of total, abject judgemental mediocrity for far, far too long. Like having to sit through endless, boring, ridiculous TV ads, we are becoming numbed by the ineptitude of our judiciary system.

Frankly, when you are an o-o-o-ld fart of 58 like me and have just read about the 10,000th "totally inadequate" sentence, it's hard to think anymore of what can be done - apart from a people's revolution.

And that's another story in another thread....

 

[Trevor_S]

A better sentence would be to have her cleaning graffitti as community service work for a few months.

I don't think that is an option, my understanding is the Union movement lobbied Government some time ago so that community service orders can't be used where there is a chance of taking someones job.

It seems interesting reading this thread here and other threads on other sites that people can't make their minds up, judges are either too lenient or too harsh... apparently...

 

[nunthewiser]

It seems interesting reading this thread here and other threads on other sites that people can't make their minds up, judges are either too lenient or too harsh... apparently...

no ppl are wondering why a FIRST OFFENDER on a minor crime was jailed ....geez a bloke in perth years back killed a cabbie and ended up doing 6 months .nick somethin or other .balga boy .you think that was fair ?

a pedophile gets 3-6 ,months for DESTROYING someones life PLUS gets counselling and allsorts of programs PLUS locked away in there own lil special section . you think thats fair ?

some silly little girl that did a cupla hundred bucks damage to property on a first offense gets jailed for 3 months with other hardened crims and maybe to become one herself from the experience .you think thats fair ?

i think what people are trying to point out IS that the justice system is full of ****

 

[Julia]

I don't think that is an option, my understanding is the Union movement lobbied Government some time ago so that community service orders can't be used where there is a chance of taking someones job.

It seems interesting reading this thread here and other threads on other sites that people can't make their minds up, judges are either too lenient or too harsh... apparently...

Trevor, I think it's more the inconsistencies that are so mind boggling.
A jail sentence for a word of graffiti is surely way over the top, but repeatedly there are examples of pathetically inadequate sentences when someone's life has been taken or irreparably damaged.

 

[MrBurns]

It seems interesting reading this thread here and other threads on other sites that people can't make their minds up, judges are either too lenient or too harsh... apparently...

Well they are both arent they, I think some judges simply do not understand the concept of "justice".

As far as retribution goes it will happen if the certain pro active people are wronged by a judges incompetance.

 

[cuttlefish]

It seems interesting reading this thread here and other threads on other sites that people can't make their minds up, judges are either too lenient or too harsh... apparently...

As Julia say's - its the lack of consistency thats aggravating. In Queensland nine males that gang raped a 10 year old girl in 2007 (the oldest male was 26) all got off without any jail sentence.

So what does the sentencing system tell us? gang rape isn't as bad as graffitti?

The judge should go to blinking jail for being a brain dead senile idiot.

 

[MrBurns]

I seriously believe there is a section of the judiciary that are pedophile sympathizers and others who think rape is the womans fault or not a serious crime.

 

[Happy]

From ABC, 3 Feb. 09

REES APPLAUDS TEEN VANDAL'S JAIL SENTENCE

New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees has welcomed a three-month jail term imposed on an 18-year-old woman for writing graffiti on the wall of a Sydney cafe.
Magistrate Ian McRae handed the sentence to first-time offender Cheyane Back yesterday for vandalising the wall of the Hyde Park cafe with a black marker last month.
The 18-year-old had pleaded guilty to damaging or destroying property.
She has been granted unconditional bail and has already lodged an appeal against the sentence, to be heard next month.
But Mr Rees says the jail sentence is fair.
"Everywhere I go, graffiti is an issue," he said.
"This sends a message that it's not something that the community regards as a frivolous offence.

"It is something that affects not only the aesthetic but people's sense of safety around the place if they see graffiti around and they think there is other anti-social behaviour going with it.
"I think a three-month jail term is absolutely appropriate."
But University of New South Wales criminologist Professor Chris Cunneen says the jail sentence does not match the scale of the crime.
"In the adult courts, a normal sort of penalty in relation to that offence would be a fine of some sort and some form of restitution for the property owner," he said.

"But I think there are other ways of approaching it. I'm not suggesting that a fine is the best way to do it.
"We've got some great examples from the Children's Court in terms of youth justice conferencing, which has been used in relation to graffiti, where you bring the offender together with the victim of the crime.
"You reach some sort of resolution and the offender is held responsible for the offence that's been committed and I think that's a much more preferable way of dealing with this."

Professor Cunneen says the cost of imprisoning someone for three months is far greater than the price of cleaning up graffiti.

"We'd have to be talking $30,000 or $40,000 simply for her incarceration alone, let alone her legal costs," he said.

Anti-vandalism community group Graffiti Hurts has meanwhile applauded the sentence, saying graffiti costs Australian taxpayers $500 million a year.

Agree with previous posters that penalties are disproportionate, but I would lift charges for - murder, rape, arson and few other things like drugs production and sale.

3 months jail for graffiti looks perfectly OK to me and I agree with Mr Rees’ comment.

Of course if I could suggest, jails should be self sufficient, as well as penalty should include few thousand hours of community work preferably cleaning up graffiti.

Penalty must be so bad, that potential offenders would think twice before offending, as it is now it is out of hand.

 

[MrBurns]

Agree with previous posters that penalties are disproportionate, but I would lift charges for - murder, rape, arson and few other things like drugs production and sale.

3 months jail for graffiti looks perfectly OK to me and I agree with Mr Rees’ comment.

Of course if I could suggest, jails should be self sufficient, as well as penalty should include few thousand hours of community work preferably cleaning up graffiti.

Penalty must be so bad, that potential offenders would think twice before offending, as it is now it is out of hand.

I dont agree at all, if they were going to pick on someone why didnt they get one of the gangs that do this all day, pathetic action by a pathetic system.

 

[Bushman]

I dont agree at all, if they were going to pick on someone why didnt they get one of the gangs that do this all day, pathetic action by a pathetic system.

Its like busting kids at music festivals for drugs using sniffer dogs. Seems that the girl who died at the Perth Big Day Out panicked when she saw the sniffer dogs and consumed her whole stash, leading to her overdose and death. Now her death is self-induced to a degree but, at 17, you do stupid reckless things and society should be trying to protect you from your own immature decision-making. The police and sniffer dogs should be at the airports and ports busting the malicious gangs that import these gawd awful substances, not scaring kids who have a few pills on them for recreational use into taking their stash!! Bloody stupid, highly foreseeable, and another kid that has been sacrificed to the system.

And I am sure the 'tough on crims' Premier of WA will be supporting the cops on this too.

 

[MrBurns]

Doncha sometimes just feel like joining the Hells Angels or the Mafia, they know justice and how to dish it out.