Forum Topic

What's the betting the "Poor Little Rich Girl Thief" gets off?

As the rioters are taken to court we see again the old adage that "money talks" still rules in England.A millionaire's daughter, arrested driving a car alleged to contain £2000 of loot from Comets, pleads not guilty and is released on bail. The case is set for 21st September. Meanwhile, the 2 boys in the car with her are remanded in custody as all plead not guilty.  Stupid boys! Why didn't you have a rich daddy too?No doubt daddy will be out today seeking to find the best liar money can buy (a barrister of course) to ensure that his poor little misunderstood tea-leaf daughter is able to invent a story blaming the 2 locked up boys for everything that happened. Out on bail, she has over five weeks to rehearse and perfect the lies.I can see it now - "I justed wanted to go home. They forced me to drive them. I'm a nice little rich girl and we don't do things like this."Apart from the unfairness of locking the boys up and letting her out on bail, for me this reinforces my belief that my refusal to serve on a jury at Isleworth last summer because of the blatantly unfair nature of the class-ridden English legal system was the correct call.Children of the wealthy have less justification for taking part in roiting and looting than anyone else, but I bet they will be the ones who get off most lightly. Pleas of mitigation - "He/She is from a good home" - Response from rich judge with little contact with real life - "I accept that - community service/suspended sentence. Don't worry about jail - that's for the poor whites, ethnics and other scum."We should also not forget that many of the biggest thieves in the Parliamentary expenses scandal are still in office and a few are even in Government. As usual, the streetwise paid their ill-gotten gains back and got off with a warning while a few of the dopes were prosecuted and sent down. This is demonstrated clearly when we read Tory Lord Hanningfield's protests that he only made the claims he did because others told him it was OK, and the unbelievable stupidity of Labour's Elliot Morley taking a £3000 Rolex into prison and being robbed of it.Until we have a legal system free of class prejudice and a parliament made up of honest people I fear that the "let's get something for nothing" mentality will continue to rule the streets.

John Connelly ● 5111d16 Comments

You John

Ian Silver ● 5109d

You John

Ian Silver ● 5109d

Sounds like one helluva trip your having Ian. Who's your supplier?

John Connelly ● 5109d

AND.............Dawn hasen't said a word yet....

Ian Silver ● 5109d

Tony?

Ian Silver ● 5109d

John, perhaps it would be better if we castrated baby boys at birth and subjected young women to radiation treatment.I don't know; just a thought..?

Ian Silver ● 5109d

Yup.....Cannery RowEnjoy a good read...hehe

Ian Silver ● 5109d

The English judicial system is class ridden. Judges, QC's and barristers are largely drawn from the public school/Oxbridge elite, and judges are frequently out of touch with ordinary people. Sentencing practice bears out these prejudices.I am not prepared to take part in a legal process that involves clowns in gowns seeking to outdo one another in lies and subterfuge in order to con juries into giving them the result they want. Nor can I have any confidence in a system which refuses to acknowledge that its practices in recent times led to large numbers of Irish people being falsely convicted - the Birmingham 6, Guildford 4, Maguire family, to name but a few.Don't forget the clown in the gown who sentenced the Birmingham 6 to life for offences they had nothing to do with bemoaned the fact that he could not sentence them to death. The police who fabricated the evidence and beat the "confessions" out of them were, of course, never brought to account.That our politicians can allow a reopening of the debate on capital punishment on the basis of public petitions despite this history indicates that populism is more important to them than decency and integrity.If you bother to check up on sentences after the student demonstrations you will find that Gilmour's sentence was not out of line with others. One less publicised individual was given 12 months for throwing a banner pole at police, a rather less dramatic offence than Gilmour's.

John Connelly ● 5109d

Sorry Terry, she's on conditional bail and tagged.

Ian Silver ● 5110d

Welcome to the Forum Terry (?)"It really sickens me when I see examples of the middle class left coming out with dim conspiracy theories like this and referring to class prejudice."Tiny bit guilty of class prejudice yourself there aren't you Terry?

Tony Wood ● 5110d

If you are right then please explain what the reasoning is for threatening any social housing tenants with eviction if found guilty of offences connected with the recent rioting/looting. Doesn't that tell you something about this government's view of ordinary working people?  So if you don't own your home you get punished twice, well that's really fair. Punish people through the proper channels, but to pick out one section reeks of discrimination. It is also a fact that if you can pay for the services of a fancy lawyer you are more likely to be in with a better chance of leniency. I think by and large our justice system is one of the best, but please don't pretend there isn't a difference in the way people are treated - there is too much inconsistency in sentencing for that.

Vanessa Smith ● 5110d

What ill-informed, stupid nonsense.Firstly, the girl in question, Laura Johnson, was remanded in custody.Secondly, we have a justice system in this country which presumes innocence. Let's just say that this girl was released on bail - there may have been mitigating factors such as duress. As I presume Mr. Connelly wasn't at the court he won't know this. It is wrong of him to try and make an example of this girl simply because her parents earn more than he does.Thirdly, how childish to refuse to do jury service whilst making the asinine claim that the English Court system is class ridden. If this was true, the jury system is the best check against it. Fourthly, any suggestion that the English legal system favours the children of the rich can be quickly dismissed with reference to the Charlie Gilmour case. If anything this suggests the opposite applies.It really sickens me when I see examples of the middle class left coming out with dim conspiracy theories like this and referring to class prejudice.

Terry Mulhern ● 5110d

Personally I don't think it's just a rich/poor dichotomy,for me (I'm expecting shouts of "conspiracy theorist")the subject of Masonry in things like the Police and Judiciary should be looked into urgently and seriously.  The Police were supposed to have had a voluntary census of all serving staff,the response was pitiful (search Police Masons).   I have witnessed the benefits of wearing a small "Forget me not" badge at first hand,and don't like it.

Tony Wood ● 5111d

An excellent piece. I particularly liked "Our politicians are for sale and don't care who knows it".

John Connelly ● 5111d

Here's an open letter to David Cameron's parents:http://nathanieltapley.com/2011/08/10/an-open-letter-to-david-camerons-parents/Mention of MPs "legally" obtaining TVs etc at taxpayers' expense.JL

Jim Linwood ● 5111d

I wonder how some of the sentences handed down will compare to those of Dave Gilmour's son and that student who threw the fire extinguisher off the roof (but didn't injure anyone) during the student demos. I wouldn't make excuses for any of them, but there is such an inconsistency in sentencing and legal representation is now the preserve of the monied, the community law services have been wiped out and legal aid is so restricted as to be meaningless.

Vanessa Smith ● 5111d