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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2010 6:53:59 GMT
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Post by pumpkinette on Nov 30, 2010 15:54:15 GMT
As a surviving victim of a female murderer (I'm a surviving family member of 2 murder victims) I'm very against ANY differences in sentencing based on sex.
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Post by jollyroger on Nov 30, 2010 20:08:59 GMT
As a surviving victim of a female murderer (I'm a surviving family member of 2 murder victims) I'm very against ANY differences in sentencing based on sex. I agree 100%. I see no value in any of the arguments used.
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Post by Big Lin on Nov 30, 2010 20:24:38 GMT
I've seen this issue from both sides of the wire. As a former juvenile delinquent I committed quite a range of crimes ranging from gang stabbings, muggings, thefts, arson and various other equally unlovely actions that I'm deeply ashamed of. If anything, as one of the girls in the gang I felt I had to be even TOUGHER than the blokes when it came to violence.
I've also had to come to terms with the (non-gang related) murder of my lesbian lover when I was not quite sixteen. That made me change my mind about the death penalty.
I've also seen friends of mine sentenced to prison for crimes they didn't commit and others sent there for minor offences and be so badly treated they attempted suicide.
I now try to keep (mainly) female offenders from reoffending by working with them as a prison visitor and through correspondence. My success rate is not too bad - about 20% which is not too disappointing for just one person.
Should women be treated differently from men?
My answer is a reluctant no.
Yes, we DO have special stresses and strains on us.
Yes, we ARE less likely than men to commit some kinds of crime.
The basic problem is NOT so much that most women in British prisons are innocent (very few of them are) or that they should be treated differently from male offenders.
It's that the MAJORITY of them OUGHT to be in psychiatric hospitals rather than prisons.
The same is also true of most of the men.
This is probably a rambling post but it's from the heart.
Sorry, I'll try to write more clearly tomorrow.
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♫anna♫
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Post by ♫anna♫ on Nov 30, 2010 22:42:36 GMT
I don't think it would be appropriate to have women work in "chain gangs". BUT hard work for wages not more than those paid in the 3rd world is a good idea for members of both sexes in the penal system!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2010 7:28:58 GMT
Lin is right in saying that male as well as female suffer from mental health problems and I believe the percentages are about the same. It isn't an excuse for crime, but I get angry at pressure groups who present statistics about women without a comparison.
However it does appear (from bits and bobs picked up elsewhere) that women have a greater risk of committing suicide in prison than men, and it is six times more likely that they will lose custody of their children. On the other hand , if inmates' problems are as severe as their campaigners make out, perhaps that can be a good thing!
No-one is arguing that female murderers be let off lightly, and they aren't. But should we be locking so many women (and men) up on remand? Drug smugglers, who form a high proportion of the female prison population, pose a particular problem in this respect because they often have nowhere to go and there is an obviously high risk they will abscond
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