By khafka - 5 Jul 20 10:21 PM
Everyone on here has gone through the justice system or are at least going through it at the moment.
I'm just wondering how everyone feels about seeing news reports etc. of people accused/convicted compared to before your own arrest? Has it changed your thought process and feelings towards them?
I'll be totally honest and say that mine has changed pretty drastically.
For those that don't know, I was guilty of an indecent images offence. Prior to this whenever I saw someone on Social Media and/or news I didn't really look into it too much but I never felt all that much sympathy for the person and was very much "do the crime, do the time". What I never noticed or to be honest, bothered with, was how drastically their life could change in an instant. And even though I still feel if you commit a crime you should be punished, but only by the court and the justice system. Once you've served your sentence your debt to society should be paid an you should be able to essentially pick up where you left off and move on using everything as a very valuable learning experience.
Don't get me wrong. I never got caught up in the mob mentality and witch hunts you see, especially relating to crimes of my nature which seem far more prevalent and attracting of abuse than say someone in court for getting into a drunken fight on a Saturday night or caught with drugs.
Part of my sentence was a Community Payback Order and I've obviously mingled with a variety of offenders who are there for lots of reasons. Some with specific intent, some who were just a victim of circumstance. Some of the stories were quite harrowing and humbling.
Some of the people I spoke with I used to just pass off as "a junkie" or a "jakey" given how they present themselves. Due to the nature of my offence all my unpaid work has to be carried out indoors doing crafts and art and similar.
There's one guy that really stood out and he was doing some work for the Koestler Awards (something I was doing also) and his art he was doing was amazing. You could tell he had zero confidence surrounding everything and was generally quite timid and kept to himself. We got to speaking quite regularly though.
It really humanized everyone for me.
I'm not on Facebook or anything now (for obvious reasons) but now when I see someone in the news for a similar offence to me my heart does break for them a little bit, knowing that essentially, the worst is yet to come.
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By JASB - 27 Aug 20 12:04 PM
+xWritten articles are so powerful at potraying a biased and warped story about a situation or individual. This is something I was previously guilty of myself and still see many others fall for (even after me often discussing my own experiences of the CJS and others I met through it). It is so easy to read something like "the police are looking for someone who was behaving in a threatening and abusive manner in Tesco", and then imagine a "typical criminal" with their fist in the staff's faces and swearing before going home to their crack den. The reality may be that it was a family man, someone who had a bad day at work and was challenged for not wearing a mask, in frustration he snaps and shouts and swears at the staff for questioning him before leaving the shop. Now I read this and don't assume that I know the whole story. I find that a lot of the newer laws especially are much more open to interpretation and the wording is often wrong and has drifted from the latin origins. Domestic traditionally meant living in the same household but for my case it was used for someone who I had met 3 times without any intimate contact (based on flirty text messages). Stalking is now defined in Scotland as someone who sends two or more unwanted messages or other methods of contact (although usually more than this). When people see the word stalking they assume that person is a danger to women, following them and watching them go into their house. The case may just be that they suffer from ASD with social issues and are unaware that their excessive messaging is having an adverse effect on the "victim".
Hi
Re:I find that a lot of the newer laws especially are much more open to interpretation and the wording is often wrong and has drifted from the latin origins.
I read a quote once that said:Bad laws are not created, it is their manipulation from their original concept by lawyers that make them bad.
The principle of your post is extremely true and I do agree with. I feel that society now requires, no demands, the drama and extremely descriptive wording by the media, Justice system etc. The government wants votes, the media want to sell newspapers, advertising etc so wants your attention. A every increasing percentage of society want their life to have the drama etc of TV shows, movies etc so the Government and media supply it in abundance.
Otherwise what is the benefit to society of allowing the media to report on and so destroy the life again of an ex-offender, that after many years has been recognised as rehabilitated, created a new life etc, when their efforts have been rewarded with the discharge of their SOR requirements.
I have belief in human beings but "society" in this age makes me "cry".
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