Truth in murder sentencing at last

October 6th, 2008

Truth in sentencing at last – life to mean life again in New Zealand after 50 years of judges being obliged officially to lie at every murder sentencing..

The policy to be announced today makes me proud. Proud of my years in Parliament puncturing myths about parole, drafting and moving amendments to government bills. Proud of my bill to end it, which did not get past first reading. Proud of my work with Garth McVicar.

I’m also grateful to the victims who’ve stood up to demand this simple justice for so long.

This commitment to restore integrity to sentencing, and to deliver for victims of our foulest crimes the elementary justice they’ve been seeking, would alone be enough reason for me to stand for National. Because National will be able to deliver.

Filed under Politics

Comments

The National proposal is disgusting and pointless, typical red-neck stuff. The opposing view makes much more sense to me.

Awesome. Those pesky murderers were getting too much incentive to change for the better. Finally we will have the system we’ve always wanted: criminal goes in, criminal does time, criminal comes out. None of this wishy-washy restorative justice. What was your term for that? Militant gay agenda or some such? Sorry, I’m new to this whole ignorant national supporter thing.

Do the crime , do the time.
National gives you one chance to get parole for good behaviour when inside the first time. Great caring and compassionate justic policy. Everyone deserves a second chance, they get it under National’s plan

Scum who repeat offend, complete their sentences.Fantastic. This will save innocent lives. Lefties just dont get it. There are some really bad and quite frankly evil people out there. When they are convicted again they should serve the full sentence.

Well Jacinta, when these evil people are inevitably released from prison, what makes you think they’ll magically decide not to reoffend? Under the current system, these people have an incentive to try and mend their ways. Key basically wants to throw that restorative incentive away in the name of eye-for-an-eye retributive justice.

If you want to see the extreme ‘lefie’ view, check out Norway’s restorative justice system. You probably don’t know about it, and when you do, it’ll come as a shock. This will be followed up by a secondary shock, which is perhaps larger: it works.

Duh,

Have you actually read the policy! Thought not! Go to national.org Just the headlines and the Labour/Green handwringing cringing wimpiness over the rights of offenders and the belief that everyone is essentially a good person inside. Nonsense.
PS
There will be restorative justice options and rehabilitation offered under Nationals Plans just not second time parole.

Looks like we’re going to have to just agree to disagree on the evil-is-substantial thing.

The point on restorative justice remains. The most dangerous offenders won’t be eligible for restorative measures. Awesome.

The most dangerous offenders should just be given a suspended sentence………suspended from a rope!

I’m sure that, somewhere inside, you are a good person. Unless evil really is substantial…

I wonder if New Zealand should not have its own equivalent if Devils Island … say the Auckland Islands … for repeat offenders … that would get the lefties boiling 🙂

I like that it’s after you’ve had a chance.
secondly it’s definitive, no parole and the maximum sentence.

I’d still like a website with photos and sentence and crime with court appeared.
and definately a sexual offenders register.

Hell, Mike, why don’t you just cut to the chase, tie them up in the town square and throw apples at them?

Are you going to stone the muslims and gays?

Who wrote the National policy? Hammurabi?

Poor Hammurabi. He was very liberal for the times, ya know 🙂

Nobody seems to care about the whole they’ll-be-worse-when-they-inevitably-come-out thing. It’s a massive kick to the seat of this policy’s pants and nobody seems to care. It’s like pro-national readers have their hands over their ears.

this policy addresses the frustration of many New Zealanders who know full well the current reoffending rate of people who are imprisoned is about seventy percent. Those like me who support this change, are not ignorant of alternatives or naive about the chances of reoffending still occurring, but in the absense of a better idea, this policy saves a large number of victims from someone who has already proven they are unable to be trusted in the community. The name calling and ad hominum attacks contribute nothing to the debate.

And so you’re fine with this seventy percent becoming ninty percent? What, am I invisible here?

Tom what I am not prepared to accept is failure masquerading as success. Seventy percent reoffending is unacceptable. There are good reasons why New Zealand society is affected by sociological factors which do not apply in Europe or Asia. I strongly support a transparent system where the Justice system simply says what it means and means what it says. In circumstances where someone has shown they are unable or unwilling to change I am prepared to pay whatever it costs so this person is locked away until they are old and feeble. It is illogical to continually allow people convicted of numerous violent crimes “one more chance”. If someone comes up with a better idea I am prepared to hear it, but so far in New Zealand that has not happened. We have to accept that we do not live in an ideal world. Prison staff, Police, judges and the people who come before them are all imperfect but they are real. Fanciful theories that gamble the very lives of innocents that someone who has time and again taken peoples property and offered violence are (in my mind) simply not worth the risk. Tom you are not invisible, but your insults and sarcasm do nothing to convince me you know more about the subject that those, whose views you scorn and who genuinely care about shocking and life changing violence to the citizens of this country.

I see NZ have just sentenced a 15 year old to ‘Life’ imprisonment (i.e. minimum 12 years) for the horrific murder of that British girl. That means the offender, who shows no remorse and refuses to admit to the crime despite overwhelming evidence, could be out on parole by age 27!! With a Labour Government back in power in 12 years time even that light sentence might be reduced!