by Gwynne » 24 May 2016, 01:19
Law and legality:
• Justice should be fast, fair and compassionate, balancing the rights and feelings of the victim, the protection of society, and the chances of rehabilitating the offender.
• Court cases shouldn't take nearly so long to get to court. No more endless delays. It should take a few months, not a few years, so if a barrister takes a case and is too busy to do it, the case passes to someone else in their partnership. Today. And lawyers can stop all those ridiculous huge charges for answering a phone or making a photocopy, plus extra fees by spinning a case out for longer. No more.
• Two main goals of the system – to protect people, and to give offenders better tools to deal with life. Therapy and training will be given to try to help convicts turn their lives around. If they show that this isn’t going to happen, they may not be able to live freely in society.
• Rights and feelings of the victim are important. Restitution when possible can be a part of the sentence – some way to make the victim whole again, or to acknowledge that their lives were impacted.
• A jail sentence is only one option for judges. Many sentences could be more creative, with restitution, boot camp and a ‘punishment fits the crime’ approach – cleaning up graffiti, replanting and repairing vandalised areas, etc, especially for younger offenders. So many kids could be turned towards a better life, to the benefit of all. We lose too many kids to drugs and aimless violence.
• Many simple cases, and civil cases, could go to a tribunal or an adjudicator instead of a full court.
• It may need better legal jargon, but it will be recognised that ‘being an idiot’ is the cause of many crimes, and the offender isn’t a hardened criminal, they had no malice in their actions. That doesn’t mean that they did no harm, and they still have to account for that, but there’s a good chance that they’ll ort themselves out and not be a problem again. They didn’t deliberately set out to hurt anyone, or to steal or do damage, they were just….an idiot.
• A special tribunal will be set up to deal with anyone who 'falls through the cracks' of the system, or who are caught up in frustrating situations because of an unnecessary red-tape hassle of some kind. The tribunal will apply common sense instead of the letter of the law - common justice is more important than technicalities.
• Prison terms set by a judge are the minimum term and can’t be reduced. They can be extended if the prisoner is non-compliant.
• First time sentences will usually be at the lower end of the possible duration. Second time is doubled. Third time is doubled again, and if the crime was violent the sentence might be life – the person is obviously too dangerous to be free in society.
• Prisoners will be required to work, and usually undergo therapy, treatment and job training. Any days when they are non-compliant don’t count towards their sentence.
• During their sentence they will receive any therapy they need and any medical or psychological treatment. Also education and job training. There will be industries set up in the prisons so that prisoners can learn to get up, go to work and structure their day positively. Education and therapy is included in work time. They will also be encouraged to develop hobbies, skills and interests and to be involved in sports and other activities – to be busy, happy and involved. Upon release they are helped to find a job and accommodation – some may not be allowed to return to the place where they got into trouble. Hopefully many ex-convicts will say that it was the best thing that happened to them and turned their lives around. All of this is available for the first and second sentence. Third time – the sentence will be a lot longer, and the convict will have to convince assessors that they won’t re-offend, which won’t be an easy sell.
• Sex offenders are far less likely to be released, and will need to show serious improvement after heavy-duty therapy.
• Under age means exactly that, and they are off limits to adults. Saying they consented means nothing – you can play a 13, 14 or 15 year old like a piano and groom them into anything. Some exploration with their own age group may occur, but they are off limits to adults. Go find someone your own age.
• Violent offenders will need to show that they can now deal with problems without violence, can maintain a relationship without abuse, and are not a danger to the public.
• Non-violent criminals have a far better chance of changing for the better. Many of them may not need to be incarcerated – they might be able to live in halfway houses and receive therapy and training while still working and moving in society.
• There will be a classification of ‘ongoing danger to society’ – for arsonists, most sex offenders, some violent criminals – people who simply aren’t safe when walking around free. They might never be able to rejoin society again, it depends on treatment, therapy and training, but it’ll be a tough sell for release and will come with plenty of strings and oversight.
• Provocation is only a defence if the response was equivalent. ‘She said something mean to me’ doesn’t justify killing her (and that’s been used far too often in the past.)
• Halfway houses will be set up for ex-convicts who need more support to cope with life, but who can live positive lives given that extra help to stay on track.
• It will be illegal to reel around drunk or drugged in public, behaving violently or disgustingly. You don't spit, bite, swear, punch, urinate, screech, vandalise or otherwise bother people. Penalty for being irritating and out of control will be a night in the drunk tank, unless you do serious injury or damage.
• Being drunk, drugged or off meds is not a legal defence. You were sober when you made the choice to put yourself in a dangerous condition, so you are responsible for your actions. If your defence is some previous trauma or injury that makes you behave dangerously, and you can't control it, then you shouldn't be allowed out loose at all, and should be confined somewhere safely for the sake of society as a whole.
• Driving is a privilege. You have a right to try for a licence, but not a right to automatically have one. People who have issues controlling their temper, or who get constant tickets, shouldn't be driving. The points system will remain, but if you lose enough points to lose your licence more than once, the second time it's lost is at least double the first time. And double that for the next, and so on until you're basically not ever driving again.
• Driving without a licence gets a penalty of fines, etc, the first time. Jail after that, equal to half the remaining suspension time. If, after release, they drive again without the licence they go back to jail for the full length of the suspension time.
• If you commit any driving offences when you don't have a licence, the penalty is doubled.
• Fraud, as a crime, becomes theft. If someone takes your money and doesn't deliver the goods, or a builder doesn't do a job properly, or someone cheats on a contract, the police don't say it's a civil matter, they just charge the person with theft. They took money and didn't deliver what was promised. Theft.
• For theft, sentence depends on whether or not violence was used. There's a standard penalty for theft, plus more for violence or use of weapons, and then one day of jail for every $10 taken. Of course, if the criminal gives the money back, the sentence will be reduced. It's worth it for the victim to get their money back. The court can also order the criminal's possessions to be sold to reimburse the victim - the stuff was bought with stolen money, after all.
• Anyone convicted of crimes involving money can be barred from jobs where they deal with money – this especially applies to those who start companies that fail, clean out the investors and move on. They will be banned from setting up more companies, or using relatives as a front for their next criminal enterprise.
• Coward punch attacks can and have killed so the charge for them is attempted murder.
• If someone is on the ground, kicking them in the head is attempted murder.
• Paparazzi are making money from someone else’s work – the name and face of the star is their career – so any money made from their photos must be split fifty-fifty with the subject of the picture.