Sentencing in Australia is a disgrace

Julia said:

Bunyip, I doubt there would be a Queenslander who didn't agree with your comments. Ferguson must be one of the most loathsome cretins to ever exist.
I completely agree that he should have never been released.

Still, re the acquittal today, I understand there was a possibility that the person he was with at the time (also a known paedophile) could have been mistaken by the child witness for Ferguson. Therefore the public prosecutor's assertion that it was Ferguson who committed the offence could not be proven without doubt.

So we have the magical formula: the execution of the Law which has little to do with justice.

I had the fleeting thought that perhaps the case could be brought against Ferguson's companion, but presumably the same defence would apply, that the child could not say for certain which of the two men assaulted her.

How is that child and her family feeling now, I wonder? Going through all that only to know this apology for a human being is out there ready to do it all again.

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bunyip said:

One of the lowest people ever to pollute Queensland with his presence, paedophile Dennis Ferguson, was today acquitted of molesting a 5 year old girl within a few weeks of his release from prison after serving a lengthy sentence for an earlier offence. Ferguson became Queensland's most loathed person when he was found guilty of abducting three siblings and holding them in a motel room for four days while he repeatedly raped them. From memory the kids were aged between three and seven years at the time.
The latest charge against him was dismissed because of inconclusive evidence.
It disgusts me that this grubby little apology for a human being was ever released from prison.....all because some idiotic person/s with more professional qualifications than common sense, thought he deserved a second chance.
Only a justice system that's downright pathetic releases a man who imprisons and rapes three little children for four days.
When Ferguson was put behind bars they should have left him there for the rest of his miserable life. Better still, cut off his head or hang him.
Now we sit back and wait for the next poor innocent little kid to fall victim to Dennis the menace.

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MrBurns said:

It surprises me that no one has knocked him off, I'd be tempted if I ever saw him. The courts are an accessory to any crime he commits.

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nulla nulla said:

perhaps a pat on the chest with a shovel?

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2BAD4U said:

People from Perth would be familiar with the case of Constable Matt Butcher who was head-butted from behind and been left partially paralysed. These gutless wonders have just been found not guilty. About time our cops got justice and protection from this sort of crap. They are there to protect us but no one is protecting them. Disgusting.

Story Here

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metric said:

ive no great love for coppers or authority....but this case is a disgrace. why would a policeman put his or her life on the line, without at the least, legal backup?

they should go on strike.

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,27574,25177866-2761,00.html


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From ABC, 13 Mar. 09

SA GOVT WINS INDEFINITE DETENTION OF RAPIST

A Supreme Court judge has ordered that a convicted rapist in South Australia be detained indefinitely.
SA Attorney-General Michael Atkinson had applied to have Dean Ronald Modra, 49, detained beyond his scheduled release from prison next month.

Modra is serving a 20-year sentence for break-ins and rapes in the late 1980s.
Lawyers for the Attorney-General argued Modra was unable or unwilling to control his sexual urges.
Justice Margaret Nyland ruled that Modra be detained after his prison sentence ends, until a further order is made.

Mr Atkinson says it is the first time he has used laws passed in 2005, although the Director of Public Prosecutions has made frequent use of them.

"This result should provide some comfort to the public," he said.
"We will step in where the safety of the public is at risk."

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Happy said:

Just what community wanted for quite a while.

Almost not on subject, thought for a while if I should open another thread.

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michelletonkin said:

Like others, I really would like to do more than just get outraged about this dreadful problem. Can anyone tell me if there's an actual lobby group or volunteer group that is taking action in some way to lobby the government/judicial organisations into changing the laws about sentencing, particularly with crimes against children? I've searched google and yahoo but can't seem to find anything. I'd be really grateful if someone with any information could reply to me at deleted I want to DO something!

Thanks very much
Michelle

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michelletonkin said:

Like others, I really would like to do more than just get outraged about this dreadful problem.
..
Thanks very much
Michelle

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From Nine MSN 25 May 2009
AUSSIES WORRY ABOUT 'NON-EXISTENT' CRIME

A majority of Australians continue to believe crime is soaring when it isn't, and that courts treat offenders far too leniently when they don't.
The latest national survey of attitudes to crime and justice found 71 per cent favoured harsher sentences for law-breakers, a figure which has remained relatively stable for two decades.
A majority also believe that to fight terrorism, the government should be allowed to detain suspects indefinitely, tap phone conversations and stop and search people in the street at random but not torture.
Support for the death penalty continues to fall. It is now 40 per cent, well down from more than 60 per cent two decades ago.
Australian Institute of Criminology research manager Judy Putt says crime researchers around the world are aware of the contradiction between the public view and the reality of the extent of crime and what happens to offenders.
Dr Putt said the survey showed a large majority would like more spent on law enforcement.
The survey showed a significant majority believed crime had increased during the past two years with 41.7 per cent saying there was a lot more crime and 23.2 per cent saying a little more.
Just under three per cent said there was less crime. Actual crime statistics show a decrease in four major categories - murder, break-ins, car theft and theft - during the same time, the study said.
Australians also over-estimated the rate of violent crime. Almost a quarter said violence accounts for up to 80 per cent of all crime, yet the true figure is 10 per cent.
Respondents also under-estimated the rate of conviction for those charged with violent crime. The real conviction figure is between 91-100 per cent, correctly nominated by just 1.8 per cent.
Similarly, almost 70 per cent estimated that under 30 per cent of home burglars go to jail. The real figure was 31-40 per cent.
The results revealed a public sceptical about the criminal justice system, the commission said.
They perceived criminal victimisation to be a much greater risk than it really was, and the criminal justice system as being softer than it really was.
"These misperceptions are generally attributable to the main source of information respondents rely on for their picture of crime and criminal justice - the popular media," the study said.

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Garpal Gumnut said:

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For more serious crimes there should be set limits so that the community know that a person can be locked away for the protection of the public for a sufficient time.

gg

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Watson pleads guilty to honeymoon killing
Posted 1 hour 27 minutes ago
Updated 58 minutes ago


'I'm guilty': Gabe Watson with his wife Christina (ABC TV News)

Map: Brisbane 4000
American David Gabriel 'Gabe' Watson has pleaded guilty in a Brisbane court to the manslaughter of his wife Christina Watson while they were on a diving trip off north Queensland in 2003.

Ms Watson, 26, was on her honeymoon with her 32-year-old husband when she drowned during the diving trip at the Yongala wreck off Townsville.

Watson was charged following an inquest into the death of his wife.

He returned voluntarily from the United States earlier this month to face the charge.

Watson made the guilty plea to manslaughter at about 10:15am AEST in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.

When Watson was formally arraigned on the charge this morning, he told the court he would plead not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.

Prosecutor Brendan Campbell accepted the plea.

Watson is being sentenced immediately, with Justice Peter Lyons now hearing sentencing submissions.

Mr Campbell has asked for a five-year jail term for Watson, with the possibility of parole after 18 months.

More to come.

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