I suspect this won't go down well with my right wing friends, but I am not at all comfortable with Christ Huhne or Vicky Pryce's imprisonment.
I accept perverting the cause of justice is a serious crime, but I really do believe that prison should be reserved for those who are a physical danger to society. It is ludicrous that these people are in prison, when so many burglars and violent offenders walk away with a community service order.
Punishment should be about repaying debt to society but just as importantly about rehabilitation. In the case of both Huhne and Pryce, both of these objectives could have been achieved far more effectively, more cheaply and more usefully by other means.
How many of us, in all honesty, have not attempted covered-up some past personal failing or wrongdoing. Perhaps not on the same scale, but the human condition is the same none the less. I am not going to cry crocodile tears for either of them; they broke the law then continued to lie and behave reprehensibly. But equally, they are human. They have lost careers, friends, status, income, credibility and hope.
I simply cannot see what imprisoning them will actually achieve.
It ensures that justice has been done. No-one is above the law. In fact they've got of lightly. Don't forget "perverting the course of justice" carries a maximum sentence of life inprisonment.
ReplyDeleteI hope it is a deterrent to all those in the Westminster bubble who think they're above the law.