The rule of law: dead and buried concept?

[Vindekarr]

Today an australian man who tortured his wife virtualy non-stop for a year, was released from jail after mere months behind bars.

 

Secondly, earlier in the year a man who raped and killed 4 children was given 3 years prison.

 

Thirdly, a woman was arrested and fined over $ 15,000 for filing a rape accusation, that while backed up by overwhelming evidence, was dismissed because the accused was a "member of high society"

 

Anyone else see the pattern?

 

The "law" is a joke. A pathetic bloody joke. The most heinous crimes are punished by months in prison, not days.

 

It angers and frightens me just how pathetic our western "justice" system has become. It's no wonder crime rates are spiraling out of control, it's nothign to do with a growing population, it's because the maximum jail sentances these days are so short as to be not worth worrying about.

 

On average, the sentances given:

 

Rape: 1 week-4 months, only very, very rarely do these cases end in any sort of punishment for the criminal. Women are usualy seen as being at fault, not the criminal. Many faults in society anger me. However, the belief that a defencless woman is responsible for her being raped angers me more than any other. Those who file rape claims do so at their own very great risk, they often are classed as "wasting police time" the victim then being savaged by the media. Or simply killed.

 

Murder: 3 months-10 years. Rarely for the western legal system, these almost always result in prosecution and punishment. However, punishment depends on the victim. Women and children's murders usualy go virtualy unpunished. It's not uncommon for those guilty of premeditated murder to go free after less than 3 years in australia.

 

Child rape: again, rape is virtualy ignored, usualy 9 months-3 years. Child rape is given massive media hype, but is often ignored as a crime. Sex offenders go free after very short terms indeed, despite their unspeakably evil crimes.

 

Armed and non armed robbery: well it depends on who they robbed, if it's a private business or home, under a year. If it's a government institution like a bank, 20 years+

 

Manslaughter: usualy unpunished, even with overwhelming evidence the judge almost always pardons the criminaly negligent party. This almost never results even in a court hearing. You may aswell drop a large rock on your worst enemy, the western legal system doesnt give a damn.

 

Drug charges: 40 years + for a large haul, a caution for a small haul. Large scale drug dealing lands the largest possible jail sentances in australia, one recently filed was "113 years jail". But it's because of cumulative sentances. hpwever, the police forces of australia however devote almsot all of their resources to drug crime, despite the nations relatively weak organised crime network.

 

Soliciting(being a prostitute) 5 years, but very rarely can those forced into prostitution be found... alive that is. Beign a prostitute is considered the lowest possible form of existance in australia and many other western countries, Prostitutes are frequently beaten, raped, and murdered. However, they are the only major group given a legal indiference. Prostitutes are not legaly seen as being huamn beings, since those who murder them usualy go unpunished even with overwhelming evidence.

[Balagor]

I don´t know what to say other than it´s the same here where I come from. I remember a joke, a cartoon in the newspaper; 2 violators have beaten the sh/t out of a man. One of them bend over to take his matches, to lit a cigarette. "No No, says the other, "do you wanna go to jail for thieving?".

That is how it is. Continious to steal, and you go to jail for 8-12 months. But a crazed head who was driving 100 m/h in a small road, on cocaine, lots of beer, and cannabis, hit and killed 2 small babyes. He only got 8 months, probably because the car was not stolen :woot:

And this is not the first time. Violence, and drunk driving is something you don´t really get any punishment for here in DK. Thats perhaps one of the resons it´s a big problem here. I say one of the reasons, the other is respect.

Another good one was a criminal that had stolen, and comitted a lot of violence. He got no punishment at all, the victims were frustrated, and HE was let out the backdoor of the courtroom, to protect HIM from journalists :woot: :woot: :woot:

So I realy do not know what to say, when the victims are let with minimum help, sometimes alone, and the abuser gets protection, and help from all kind of the public system :sick:

[ub3rman123]

I'm curious.. Does everyone in Australia really want to kill you or is it just a perception thing?

[Vindekarr]

Cause and effect.

 

Everything has consequences. Often the smaller and more overlooked the matter, the greater it's fallout will be. When North Korea detonated a nueclear warhead under their own country. the world paniced. When North Korea stormed out of nueclear disarmament talks and began to re-assemble Yongbyun-Kun, their primary nueclear research and refinement centre, nobody batted an eyelash save me. Which has the greatest consequences? the latter, because the former saw a nuke destroyed forever, the latter ensures that this disorganised but dangerous rogue state can make nueclear weapon grade plutonium as they wish.

 

Likewise, you give a man with no conscience, no morality, no empathy, a legal inch, he'll take a god damn legal mile. Often australian legal proceedings are overturned simply because the accused is a member of "high society"

 

No footballer has been convicted of rape in the last three years despite dozens and dozens of accusations-many of them with damning, ironclad evidence to support their allegations. It's because footballers are above the law. A man who plays football recently stripped naked and ran about in a public gathering. That's highly illegal. but police refused to even lay charges or accept complaints because he was a footballer.

 

Likewise for bankers, actors, and investors. If you're rich here, you're above the law. because the police are too afraid to touch them.

 

It's the most pathetic, obcene thing: a man recently got 48 years jail for having a large stash of child pornography. A man recently got released after 9 months jail after raping and killing 4 young girls. Who's the worse felon? in the eyes of the law, it's the pictures that count, not the act.

 

Damn the police sometimes I think we need vigilantes-the damn victoria police havent charged a man for anything truly criminal in 40 years, they were too busy arresting litterbugs to deal with rapists, murderurs and psychopaths.

[brokenergy]

ub3rman, Vin sometimes exaggerates what's happening in Australia when the opposite is true. The rule of law is not dead, it is all about what is appropriate to give to the culprit. Sometimes people may not agree with the verdict and they have the right to challenge it but people usually forget the other side too. For example recently a woman in Virgina was executed by lethal injection, I'm sure most will know now from the news. Those who don't know much about the case (I had to do some research), she was first convicted as an accessory to murder then to being the mastermind. Her IQ her defense lawyers claimed was 72, 2 more above being considered mentally retarded. Now if independent observers claimed that she has a really low IQ, does that give you the right to kill this person? This is an example of a verdict that is given excessively and an example of how favouring one side isn't the way to go.

 

Now with the raping football case that Vin stated, no one besides the people who are on the case know what's involved. We can't comment upon a working case and we jump to conclusions. Besides, the rich get as much as the poor do or don't you remember the recent case involving a certain guy in the banking sector in America.

[Ghogiel]

Did you just figure this one out?

 

I can't say it's a dead and buried concept...

At no time I can find that any judicial system been anything but very flawed and very exploited by the few.

 

Socrates.

 

OJ. :laugh:

 

plenty of examples of justice being fubar

[evilneko]

And far more of it working just fine.

 

Yes, it gets subverted, generally by those with enough wealth, but that is true of any human system. Not saying we should accept it, just that we should not be surprised by it. That doesn't mean we can't be outraged about it when it does happen though.

[Aurielius]

I'm curious.. Does everyone in Australia really want to kill you or is it just a perception thing? Most people only notice the ones actively trying to murder them.

That was a thought that occurred to me also, still suggest a move is in order if Vindekar really isn't paranoid.

[Balagor]

In this rural area, where I live, it is still save to go, even to leave your house without locking your door. So it was also in Copenhagen just 30 years ago. I watch the progress. and keep an eye on how the law sometimes becomes more and more a joke. :woot:

This is what this topic is about, so I think we should stick to it, and be happy that there is a topic, :biggrin: instead of evaluating the starters possibillity of being paranoid or not. :thumbsup:

[Chaosblade02]

IMO the punishment should fit the crime. Which means death penalty for murderers, castration for rapists, etc. If any legal system wants to set up any deterrent to criminals at all, the punishment should fit the crime. The rule of law isn't inhumane, but lots of criminals are, and deserve harsh punishments for their actions. For these crimes, there should be no chance for them to be repeat offenders.

 

I have noticed that criminals convicted of rape in the US, sometimes get off with probation, or short prison sentences, then go back out and do it again. If their balls were lopped off the first time for committing such an inhumane crime, there would be no repeat offenders. And as far as human rights? The criminal waves them when they take the human rights away from their victims in certain crimes like rape and murder. Any Judge that gives a rapist probation, especially a child rapist, then they are traitors to the people they are sworn to protect.

 

Non violent crimes like petty theft, they already got laws on the book that are satisfactory for this. But repeat offenders should be given steeper punishments.

 

And it sounds like Australia is even more lax on Criminals than the US. Some US States have a 25 years to life minimum prison sentence for Child Rapists, which I think is satisfactory, as long as they get castrated before they leave prison.

 

And just to make a point, most of the States where rapists got off with light prison sentences, were very liberal states, that had very liberal judges. It is in fact a tactic by defense lawyers to get their clients up in front of Judges they know are very liberal, and will be lenient.