Thursday, July 06, 2006



Oh dear

It looks like Christiaan Briggs, who sometimes comments here, has done something stupid.

It's a reminder of a fact the "hang 'em high" brigade and the rest of the baying mob screaming for harsher sentences and more brutal treatment of criminals have forgotten: crime is not solely done by a mysterious class of Others, but also by people we know - our friends, relatives, or people we have met over the net. Anyone can get get drunk and do something stupid, anyone can be a dick, anyone can find themselves in desperate circumstances, and anyone could decide that they could make more money knocking off liquor stores than we would working at McDonalds. Each and every one of us has the potential for criminality inside of us, and in the event that we are dumb enough to act on it, we should be treated fairly and punished according to the actual seriousness of the offence - not the demented revenge fantasies of sadists whose hubris prevents them from every imagining that they or anyone they know could be the one standing in the dock.

4 comments:

Strange. I do wonder what caused it....

Posted by Asher : 7/06/2006 10:27:00 AM

I think there's a huge difference between a punch thrown at another adult in anger and premeditated rape, beatings and murder - which is the usual domain of the hang'em high brigade.

You're right, we do all the the seeds of criminality inside of us and most of us never act on the odd terrible thought. But for people who are dangerous recidivists, then lifetime preventative detention is safer all around.

I don't want to hang'em high, but neither do I want them free to hurt others again. Heck I don't even care if they get luxury accomodation with heated towel rails and feather beds - just keep them away from the vulnerable population.

Posted by Muerk : 7/06/2006 06:17:00 PM

An unfortunate choice of words from a well wisher : "Heard the bad news Friday," Frankie Machine added. "We played you to death on the jukebox in tribute."

Like most newspaper reports that come out in the initial stages, the ones I've read say very little. I can appreciate the irony, but I'll wait until I hear the other side of the story.

I do see a huge difference between a punch resulting in a bad fall, and dropping an 8kg block off a bridge onto a car. Tragically, the result may be the same. Let us hope Leeson makes a full recovery.

Posted by ZenTiger : 7/06/2006 11:08:00 PM

Anyone of us can get drunk and do something stupid? No, I think there are mean-drunks, and there are weepy-drunks, and there are the just plain happy-drunks. The mean-drunks can, and do, get into this sort of trouble. Being able to fool people into thinking he is a nice guy when he's sober doesn't make him a nice guy. Christiaan Briggs is a angry and bitter man. Pour alcohol on him and this comes out.

And you're concerned his sentence might be too harsh? Ask Billy Leeson about harsh.

Posted by lumberjack : 7/09/2006 05:06:00 AM