Faith

2 years 3 months for hit-and-run killing (today's news, too recent for a URL), 7 years for having an affair with a couple of under-age students (http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/...180083434.html) The law is an ass. Discuss.

Flying Banana

No better in the UK, apparently there a life sentence means serving a minimum of 4 years 3 months, not really even close to life is it?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...er/4425989.stm

andrew63

Consider this in context:
Jeremy Jaynes, 30, was sentenced to a nine-year prison term for violating anti-Spam laws by sending out millions of unsolicited e-mails using fake addresses.
http://ployer.com/archives/2005/04/aol_spammer_sen.php
Crazy!

Andrew

ABCDiamond

Those three posts put the whole civilised justice system into context

Who was it, and when, that said "The Law is an Ass" ?

jayr

"Mr. Bumble had little use for judicial reasoning. In Dickens' Oliver Twist, he put it rather bluntly: "'If the law supposes that', said Mr. Bumble, 'the law is a ass — a idiot.'"

Mr. Bumble was, understandably, very irritated when he made this statement. He had been accused of stealing jewelry belonging to Oliver's mother; and, after making sure his wife had left the room, he responded: "It was all Mrs. Bumble." Brownlow, the solicitor, advised Mr. Bumble "that is no excuse" because:

"'You were present on the occasion…and, indeed, you are the more guilty of the two, in the eye of the law; for the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction.

"'If the law supposes that,' said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, 'the law is a ass — a idiot. If that's the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience — by experience.'"

Faith

My example got my goat cos as so often (here and in the UK and no doubt in other "civilised" countries too) it just sends the message out that it's ok to drive irresponsibly. I'll stick my neck out and say that particular message gets sent out more strongly here though if the general tolerance shown to young men (surely) in stupidly pointlessly powerful cars is anything to go by. Well, you know what they say about men who drive big cars.