Crime and Punishment

I want to raise the tragic case of Kevin Tripp who was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mr. Tripp was killed by Tony Virasami, by mistake. Virasami actually wanted to hit a completely different man but poor Mr Tripp happened to be in the way. Why was this poor man killed because some other person thought that they didn't have to queue and objected to being told off.
The instigator received 18 months and Virasami recieved four years. I am sorry but this is hardly a deterent. This poor man has lost the rest of his life. Its not something that is bankable. It is irreplaceable and priceless and now it is no more.
The justice system in this country has yet again failed to protect the innocent. The violent man, the killer be it accidental or not, will in four years be able to go on with his life, while Mr. Tripp will not have that option.
Violence in any kind of society cannot be tolerated in any shape or form. Two things come out of this. The cameras that survey our streets are reactive and not proactive. So that if the light is good and they get a clear picture they might be able to make an arrest. It doesn't stop people from committing the crimes in the first place. That is why we need a strong deterrant. Strong sentences for crimes of violence. What gives these people the right to be violent just because they can't get their own way. The casualness of violence has become part and parcel of the young.

The other thing is that the BNP could jump on this. Who would note vote for a party that promises that the streets would be safe and retribution would be hard as a warning to others?

We have resources pouring into a war that we cannot win, while incidents like this happen. We now live in a violent world which is getting more violent. I suggest bringing back hard labour. I know it sounds harsh and victorian, but then either we help the prisoners or we are make prison a deterent not a rite of passage.

There are lots of areas which need cleaning, canals which need clearing, coastal defences which need repairing. The whole of the East Anglia will be under water unless something is done about it, so here we have a ready made work force that would cost nothing. Human rights? Well that works both ways. Where is my human right to sit on a bus and feel safe, to walk down a street without having to keep one eye on a group of lads, that might just take it into their head to attack me for no reason, to be able to go to a supermarket without the fear of being killed. Where are Mr. Tripps human rights now.

Amazing that we seem to ignore human rights if it involves upsetting our allies but only to happy to invoke them if it is on our own back door.

Cases like this will lead to vigilanties. The whole purpose of the law is for the population to believe in it and have faith that justice will be done. This case has failed us all, especially the family of Mr.Tripp and all other people who may complain that someone is pushing in the queue. Wait for the next time. They may have a gun. What will the justice system do then? I don't know only that it will be too late for Mr. Tripp and others who have died because they have been subjected to casual violence.