Prisons and Prisioner Votes
Posted by Brandon Lewis, MP for Great Yarmouth, at 16:34, Mon 14 February 2011:
Why should murderers, rapists, terrorists, burglars and fraudsters have the right to vote? They have committed crimes, been convicted and sent to prison because they have broken the law. Yet, a group of unelected judges in the European Court has decided that it is against their human rights to prevent them voting.
Amidst warnings that we will break international obligations and risk compensation of up to £100 million to 2500 prisoners who have outstanding claims in the European Court of Human Rights, MP’s debated the issue yesterday. It’s crazy that prisoners are allowed to take this kind of legal action in the first place.
My view is; if you have broken your responsibility as a citizen and decided to break the law, then you lose many of your rights. It’s simple - no responsibility equals no rights. That also means that you shouldn’t have an influence over our lawmakers and must lose your right to vote and elect a government. I voted against giving prisoners the right to vote. Only twenty-two MP’s voted in favour.
Since bouncing back in to government Kenneth Clarke has been a controversial figure, frequently pilloried by the right wing press as being soft on criminals. Whether one agrees with his prison reforms, you can’t argue that he is right to cut the £4 billion a year prisons budget.
Under Labour the prisons bill rose by over two-thirds, with each prisoner costing the taxpayer £45,000 a year to accommodate. You may consider that money well spent, if it keeps a criminal off the streets. That’s the problem though, it keeps them off the streets whilst serving their sentence, but it does nothing to stop reoffending once released. Nearly half head back to prison within the year and two-thirds offend again within two years of release. A conveyor belt of crime has been created, that churns out one professional criminal after another. It’s a damning indictment on our justice system that, despite spiralling budgets, has done nothing to reduce repeat offences.
Kenneth Clarke is right in tackling this wasteful spending, at the same time ending institutionalised idleness. A stretch inside shouldn’t be a cushy little number where offenders feel comfortable. It should be hard work and miserable, somewhere you don’t wish to return. I also support his plans for tougher community punishments that are actually enforced. There must be no sloping off, no getting away early and no standing around doing very little. They are there to repay society for the wrongs they perpetrated. We must not give them choices or give them an easy option. If it means doing the jobs that others won’t do, like clearing litter, removing graffiti or hard manual work, then so be it. If that’s under full public gaze and the humiliation that involves, then that’s no bad thing either.
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Posted by John L Cooper, 16:48, Mon 14 February 2011: (Is this post abusive?) #
Well Brandon this is just one of many laws handed down by Europe Your Ted Heath got us into this its up to you lot to add a few clauses in so we can once again follow our own ways and not these continentals whether its Voting, Fish Quotas Immigration and 101 other things pressed on the Brits by you all One day you all in Westminister will be like coalminer, dockers REDUNDENT John L Cooper
Posted by STEVEN CLARKSON, 17:38, Mon 14 February 2011: (Is this post abusive?) #
They should have the right to vote if they can get out and place it in the balot box.
Posted by Dennis Durrant, 18:23, Mon 14 February 2011: (Is this post abusive?) #
They cancelled all their rights when they stopped respecting the rules of society. This is part of paying the price for their crime.
Posted by Kim Hastings, 08:10, Tue 15 February 2011: (Is this post abusive?) #
I like the words. Now lets see the action.