Capital "P" for Punishment
I really shouldn't read the newspaper. There are just too many instances where our society gets kicked and our laws are too lax to kick back. One such incident comes to us from Amsterdam and the other from >France.
Mohammed Bouyeri, a Muslim extremist, was offended by a movie made by Theo van Gogh which showcased the inequalities faced by Muslim women. So what did he do? He shot (8 times), stabbed, and attempted to decapitate the film-maker in broad daylight. Then he used a hunting knife to pin on his body a 5-page note threatening congresswoman Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a woman who was involved with the film's production. In court, the accused denied himself a defense and even said he'd do it all over again if he could. To top the fiasco off, he begged for the death penalty, a feat that would have helped him become the religious martyr he hoped. So what did they do? They jailed him for life.
But even worse are our friends in France. (I'm shaking as I write this, I'm so angry.) 62 people were "convicted of raping, abusing or prostituting dozens of children following the discovery of a vast paedophile network in France." The worst part: most of those convicted were family members of the children they assaulted. The kids were abused in exchange for money, cigarettes, and even food in the poor French community, a fact that their defence tried to use to reduce the sentences. The age of the children ranged from six months to fourteen years. So what did they do? They jailed them.
If you didn't figure out where I was going with this when you read the title, you've probably figured it out now.
The incidences may not have happened in the merry ol' land of Canada but you can bet your last dollar it could. And what would we have done?
More importantly, what should we be doing?
I think you know where I stand.
Mohammed Bouyeri, a Muslim extremist, was offended by a movie made by Theo van Gogh which showcased the inequalities faced by Muslim women. So what did he do? He shot (8 times), stabbed, and attempted to decapitate the film-maker in broad daylight. Then he used a hunting knife to pin on his body a 5-page note threatening congresswoman Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a woman who was involved with the film's production. In court, the accused denied himself a defense and even said he'd do it all over again if he could. To top the fiasco off, he begged for the death penalty, a feat that would have helped him become the religious martyr he hoped. So what did they do? They jailed him for life.
But even worse are our friends in France. (I'm shaking as I write this, I'm so angry.) 62 people were "convicted of raping, abusing or prostituting dozens of children following the discovery of a vast paedophile network in France." The worst part: most of those convicted were family members of the children they assaulted. The kids were abused in exchange for money, cigarettes, and even food in the poor French community, a fact that their defence tried to use to reduce the sentences. The age of the children ranged from six months to fourteen years. So what did they do? They jailed them.
If you didn't figure out where I was going with this when you read the title, you've probably figured it out now.
The incidences may not have happened in the merry ol' land of Canada but you can bet your last dollar it could. And what would we have done?
More importantly, what should we be doing?
I think you know where I stand.
posted by Amanda Wrind at
10:33 a.m.
2 Comments:
Death comes not to everyone that wants or deserves it. But history teaches that at certain times both did occur; societies refused to accept the burden of care for their criminals and the despaired refused to allow society to determine the limits to their life.
While I am not fully sure a return to these times would produce mass benefit, it would certainly ease the intense, localized suffering each incident causes.
By
Anonymous, at 1:36 p.m.
Um, have you seen this? http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/07/29/rwanda050729.html
By
Anonymous, at 2:22 p.m.
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