Sunday 3 June 2012

I Give It A Month...

Harry Chown was being sentenced for the 77th time and faced his 34th stint in prison – but this time he was not jailed or electronically tagged.
*sigh*

Oh, go on then, what's the reason this time?
The court heard how 48-year-old Chown's life had been wrecked by crime and drugs since he was a teenager.
For decades he had battled drug addiction and was jailed dozens of times.
But now, according to a senior police officer who has tracked his offending for 20 years, he has made 'remarkable improvements'.
Wheelchair-user Chown is in love, drug free, and helping A-Level students with their criminology lessons.
Hmmm....
And top judge Francis Gilbert QC congratulated him at his latest court appearance yesterday at Plymouth Crown Court and handed him a suspended prison sentence for burglary.
It means Chown walked free from court and won't go to jail – as long as he stays out of trouble.
He's already NOT 'stayed out of trouble', hasn't he? He wouldn't be up before Gilbert in the first place if he'd managed that!

It's not just the judge who's gullible, either:
Outside the court, Det Con Sara Thorn, a police officer specialising in work with prolific offenders, said: "I have known Harry for 20 years.
"I have worked with him, and over the last 12 months he has made remarkable improvements.
"He is not the same man, and has a new relationship which is a stabilising factor."
Well, I suppose it's normal to feel protective towards a source of continuous employment...

15 comments:

Mark Wadsworth said...

If he's a "wheelchair user" how can he "walk free", wouldn't he "roll free" or something?

tuco said...

Same way he carried out his burglaries mark.Folding the chair to fit through the fan-light window

Captain Haddock said...

"And top judge Francis Gilbert QC congratulated him at his latest court appearance yesterday at Plymouth Crown Court and handed him a suspended prison sentence for burglary.

Wheelchair-user Chown is in love, drug free, and helping A-Level students with their criminology lessons" ..

Ahh .. I get it, he was merely demonstrating a practical lesson on the finer points of breaking & entering for the students, so that's OK then .. ;)

Anonymous said...

Well, I suppose it's normal to feel protective towards a source of continuous employment...

Abso-fucking-lutely! No cuts in that particular police budget then?

jaded said...

Police officers like her are traitors.I have no time for them.
She needs to spend a bit more time with victims and less time with manipulative scum.
I'm old school,and i'm outnumbered.

Tim Almond said...

At what point did I stop being the poncy liberal and become, relative to the elite, an authoritarian?

If you've been sentences 77 times, you should have been locked up 76 times. First time, the judge gives you get community service (take away some liberty, some of them might realise that this sucks). A lot of criminals don't repeat their criminal behaviour once they realise that they're not invincible. Second time, you go to jail. If someone has their liberty taken away and comes out and will still offend then it's quite clear that they not just an idiot that thought they could get away with it, or someone who didn't see the downside of their crime, but someone who is a career criminal, balancing the risk of crime with the rewards.

What you do with these people is lock them up, and keep locking them up, and every time a judge sees them, the sentence gets raised. Either they eventually get the message, or the public is protected from them.

And yes, that does mean building a lot more prisons.

Anonymous said...

Outside the court, Det Con Sara Thorn, a police officer specialising in work with prolific offenders, said: "I have aided and abetted Harry for 20 years and over the last 12 months this has ensured remarkable improvements in his modi operandi."

Furor Teutonicus said...

XX The Stigler said...

What you do with these people is lock them up, and keep locking them up, and every time a judge sees them, the sentence gets raised. Either they eventually get the message, or the public is protected from them.

And yes, that does mean building a lot more prisons. XX

Easier, and much cheaper method. After the fifth, or, giving the benefit of the doubt, as I am feeling generous today, sixth time, it is obvious they are not fit members of the community, and never will be.

Lethal injection.

An NO, I am NOT being "tongue in cheek", nor am I joking.

Tatty said...

Yet another police officer offering "mitigation" for a criminal. What the fuck is going on.

Jiks said...

Good to see being confined to a wheelchair did not stop this man from pursuing his chosen career.

Captain Haddock said...

"Good to see being confined to a wheelchair did not stop this man from pursuing his chosen career" .

Crime is an investor in people and an equal opportunities employer ..

Woman on a Raft said...

Could they not just wheel-clamp him?

James K said...

Our criminal justice system can't even manage "77 strikes and you're out". I despair!

Anonymous said...

I suppose as you get older you get less crime prone. Happens to us all.

JuliaM said...

"If he's a "wheelchair user" how can he "walk free", wouldn't he "roll free" or something?"

SNORK!

"No cuts in that particular police budget then?"

Well, indeed. There never seem to be any cuts for the practitioners of the pink n' fluffy stuff, sadly.

"At what point did I stop being the poncy liberal and become, relative to the elite, an authoritarian?"

A question I've often asked myself.

"Could they not just wheel-clamp him?"

:D