Louise Taylor on the bizarre decisions of the Australian legal system:
Yesterday Australia's high court found that social disadvantage should be taken into account in sentencing, and does not diminish over time.
This is for Australian aborigines, of course, but can’t you just see it being rolled out to
other groups in time? I'm sure the Southern Poverty Law Centre is looking at this and wondering which useful idiot will swallow it for African Americans...
Lawyers for William Bugmy, an Aboriginal man who had intentionally caused grievous bodily harm to a prison officer, had asked the court to consider principles for recognising Indigenous disadvantage in sentencing.
Yes, it was his 'deprivation' that made him assault a prison officer, clearly..
During the hearing of the appeal, one of the appellate judges likened Bugmy’s tragic life history as a “cheque that could no longer be cashed”. Underpinning such statements appears to be a stark judicial ignorance of the social realities of life in many Aboriginal communities.
Well, no, actually it's more like a common-sense attitude that we should see a lot more, but sadly, it isn't shared by the rest of the Aussie judges:
His lawyers further sought to transform the approach to the sentencing of Aboriginal people by asking the high court to accept that the time had come for the socially destructive effects of the over representation of Aboriginal people in our prisons – Indigenous Australians make up more than a quarter of Australia's prisoner population– to be used in sentencing to guide courts in exercising restraint before jailing Aboriginal people.
'Give 'em a break! It's totally
not the soft bigotry of low expectations, yer honour!'
But here is what the Bugmy case is certainly not. It is absolutely not a get out of jail free card for Aboriginal offenders. It is also not permission for Aboriginal offenders to "excuse" their crime on the basis of their Aboriginality. Bugmy was never asking for that.
Oh, Louise, that's
exactly what it is...
5 comments:
I wish they'd stop all this crap.
It's almost standard now for any crime to be excused because of drink/drugs/video nasty/previous childhood abuse or neglect... and now poverty too.
Rather than a sentencing discount they should probably have something added on. Example, a mugging. Serious as that is, it shouldn't be possible to mitigate that offence simply because you were also drunk and disorderly. In my book, that's two crimes not one minus a bit for the second.
And to be fair, you can apply the same rule for poverty or a 'deprived upbringing'. If this is used as an excuse the judge should rightly point out that accused is probably more aware than most how it feels to have misery visited upon you... and up the sentence accordingly.
XX social disadvantage should be taken into account in sentencing, and does not diminish over time. XX
Sorry.... How come "social disadvantaged" are doing "over time" any way?
To long in the dole queeue, or what?
And if so; YES! We SHOULD diminish it!
XX But here is what the Bugmy case XX
Why do I keep seeing that name, on first glance as "Buggerme"???
This is for Australian aborigines, of course
So, are we now getting ready to re-classify them moral imbeciles and therefore not fully human, not capable of understanding the difference between right and wrong. If they are to be regarded as social defectives, then they should definitely not have a vote or be allowed to hold property.
Perhaps it is time to re-institute laws which make it a crime for white folks to have sex with them, on the grounds that it is bestiality. It follows, of course, that they cannot have sex or marry outside of their tribe.
In the long run it is not in the interests of any competent adult to have the law disapplied as that is the first step towards defining them as incompetent and ultimately as non-human.
"It's almost standard now for any crime to be excused because of drink/drugs/video nasty/previous childhood abuse or neglect... and now poverty too."
Working...as....intended!
"So, are we now getting ready to re-classify them moral imbeciles and therefore not fully human..."
Why am I reminded of the oh-so-admired Scandinavians and their approach to the mentally deficient..? ;)
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