Where do I stand on crime and punishment ?

Being a criminal is a choice. Going to prison is voluntary ! You do not have to be a part of the system if you do not want to.

Tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime has to be the biggest cliché of all time. But no politician has the guts to deal with this issue. The weak liberals always claim this as their own and so our criminal justice system is doomed to failure.

Ok.........

Let's take the current sentencing guidelines for all crimes and DOUBLE the tariff for all. When a convict is sentenced to TEN years imprisonment that is the term he will serve. There is no parole or time off for good behaviour.  Instead time will be added on for bad behaviour.

Prisoners will work. We could easily set up treadmills where they all work 10 hours a day. Those treadmills could be connected to power generators to produce green energy. Can anyone give me a reason why this should not happen.

No TV, no radio, no computers, nothing at all like this for a prisoner. When he is not working or eating he is locked away in his cell.  No association time.  Visits restricted to four a year, no more.

The criminal does not have to be there, it's his choice.

We need judges to chair our courts but we do not need them when it comes to sentencing. We should take three people from the jury who convicts the person on trial, they form the sentencing committee to decide the term.  Sentencing should be taken away from judges.

So where do I stand on the death penalty ?  BRING IT BACK.

I am old enough to remember the suspension of the death penalty. Then along came these two.  Can you give me a good reason why they escaped the death penalty. Their evil murders took place while capital punishment was still in place but they were not caught, tried and sentenced until the death penalty had been suspended.

Why should Doctor Death have been allowed to escape his own death at the hands of the executioner ?

Thirty years ago I was called for jury service. We tried three different drug smuggling cases brought by HM Customs.  All were badly prepared allowing skilful defence barristers to punch holes through. Some went to prison and some walked free. One more would have walked free had it not been for me.  The jury was divided, I spoke very firmly and changed the minds of the not guilty advocates. The guilty smuggler went to prison for three years.

Would I have made such a passioned speech to my fellow jury members if a man's life depended on being found not guilty ?  I am not so sure.