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Stephen Pollard

ByStephen Pollard, Stephen Pollard

Opinion

A criminal's view of punishment - I don't like it!

February 17, 2008 24:00
1 min read

Erwin James, who is out of prison after serving a 'life' sentence (which says all one needs to know about both Mr James and our criminal justice system) had this to say about my Times piece last week: Of all the examples of disingenuous and irresponsible reporting of criminal justice issues, however, one of worst in recent years appeared in an edition of the Times this week. To be labelled irresponsible by the likes of Mr James is indeed a singular achievement.

What surprised me, however, was the overall tone of the comments. I had expected Comment is Free readers to weigh in with him against the idea of punishment for criminals. I could not have been more wrong. Comments such as these are plentiful on the thread: Let's start by ensuring they serve their full time, in a harsh environment with no time off for good behaviour (but double time for poor behaviour). And life means life.

Then we can worry about 'rehabilitation'.