Laughing stock!

[redken1]

Jason Owen was serving a six-year sentence for causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter Connelly in 2007. He was released under licence from Wandsworth Prison in south London, two days after the fourth anniversary of Baby Peter's death.

Two men who attempted to use Facebook to incite riots during last week's disorder in Britain have been jailed for four years today.

I am certainly not condoning inciting a riot, but when the life of a child appears to mean less than stirring things up on a social network, is it any wonder that our legal system has become a laughing stock?
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[AndytheCat]

I agree!

[Nelly]

+1 Ken.

[Green Man]

+ 2....

[Jacde]

Disgraceful :-( too many do gooders, and not enough people prepared to stand up and say enough is enough, it's about time we all grew a pair and started putting the Great back into Britian!

[Jon_W]

Elliot Morely was jailed for 16 months for false mortgage claims amounting to £30,000

A london rioter was jailed for 6 months for stealing a £3.50 bottle of water.

By my calculation, Morely should have recieved 1457 years, 6 months if justice was equal!!!

[wiggy]

Have no faith in the so called legal system ,prison isnt even a punishment when they get a warm cell 3 hot meals sky tv ,education , and every concivable recreation item you can think of ,at the tax payer exspence .They should go back to hard labour ,you work for you food and do work to repay for wot you have done , not give you an education so you can out with the courts the next time .OHH and you guilty untill proven inocent ,no freedom of speech as the gits will get you on a section 9 public order offence ,police state or wot .

[DaytonaDog]

I nearly choked on my coffee and doughnut when I first read about this.

Now I will openly admit that I am an advocate for harsher sentencing by the courts. However that has to be a permanent thing as opposed to when the policital will dictates it. Looking at this sentence I believe it is way way over the top for the offence committed. Both males, whilst wrong in their actions, have so far received a greater sentence then any actual looter/rioter, although their actions never actually caused any harm or loss to anybody. I strongly suspect that their sentence will get reduced on appeal. As Ken rightly points out Owens only got 6 years for his involvement in the Baby P affair and is due for release immeniently. Another example to compare this sentence with is 4 years is about the average sentence for causing death by dangerous driving.

As for the lad who got 6 months for stealing the water, I actually have no issue with that sentence, because it is based on the context on which the water was stolen as opposed to the actual amoount, ie it was taken during mass public looting and violent disorder.

As for this country being a police state, if you think this is a police state I suggest you try living in Zimbabwae or Iran or China. Do you think in a police state, Muslims against Crusades would have been able to burn poppies on Remembrance Sunday. I very much doubt it. This country is probably the most compliant when it comes to the Human Rights Act, one of the articles being the Right to freedom of expression.

I'm not sure what Section 9 of the Public Order Act relates to either, I certainly was never taught it whilst doing my training and as far as I am aware its a section of the act that covers the abolishment of many dated older acts, i.e. Section 9(1) abolished the common law offences of riot, rout, unlawful assembly and affray.

Section 9(2) abolished the offences under:
section 1 of the Tumultuous Petitioning Act 1661
section 1 of the Shipping Offences Act 1793
section 23 of the Seditious Meetings Act 1817
section 5 of the Public Order Act 1936