Huhne

[teamsaint]

Huhn owes

:biggrin:

Huhne know it makes sense. 75% discount. Del boy would never be so generous.

[Hornspieler]

A prison sentence was, IMV, totally inappropriate from the start - now made a nonsense by this ludisrous early release from custody.

I would maintain that this was a civil offence comittted with fore-knowledge and aided and abetted by a second party.

If the sentence for both offenders had been a lifetime ban from holding a licence to drive, it would have been a much more effective punishment and would have discouraged other rogue motorists from committing similar offences - such as taxation avoidance , and driving without MOT or Insurance.

HS

BTW Such a punishment might even ease the amount of traffic congestion and reduce accidents. Motoring offences tend to compound each other.

[teamsaint]

Quite right, keep prison space for the serious dangers to the public...

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/woman-pensioner-jailed-for-not-paying-tv-licence-ridiculous-cost-of-jailing-fine-dodgers-in-northern-ireland-29221028.html

[ahinton]

A prison sentence was, IMV, totally inappropriate from the start - now made a nonsense by this ludisrous early release from custody.

I would maintain that this was a civil offence comittted with fore-knowledge and aided and abetted by a second party.

If the sentence for both offenders had been a lifetime ban from holding a license to drive, it would have been a much more effective punishment and would have discouraged other rogue motorists from committing similar offences - such as taxation avoidance , and driving without MOT or Insurance.

HS

BTW Such a punishment might even ease the amount of traffic congestion and reduce accidents. Motoring offences tend to compound each other.

The mere fact of Huhne being handed a sentence is tantamount to his being handed a fat cheque for what he writes and gets published about having been sentenced and served but a quarter of that sentence; I don't doubt for a moment that he's had a nice time at Leyhill Country House Hotel contemplating how best and most profitably to go about this. The lessons to be learned by others might just be the very opposite of what you and I and others might hope, subject to the fact that, if you're privileged to begin with, what happens to you after you've screwed it is very likely to be quite different to what happens if you aren't.

[Pabmusic]

:biggrin:

Huhne know it makes sense. 75% discount. Del boy would never be so generous.

I forgot about Early Conditional Release. This is a fairly recent (15 years or so) scheme where certain offenders - non-violent, first-timers, former MPs or whatever - can be released earlier than otherwise and spend the rest of their sentence on licence.

[teamsaint]

I forgot about Early Conditional Release. This is a fairly recent (15 years or so) scheme where certain offenders - non-violent, first-timers, former MPs or whatever - can be released earlier than otherwise and spend the rest of their sentence on licence.

the rules are made up and implemented piecemeal I guess , which can lead to things not happening as they should, or as we might want.
On my one experience of jury service, at the end of a week long trial for a fairly minor burglary of 3 men who were already doing time for similar offences, the judge ended up asking the barristers what sentence he had to pass , in order that they serve an extra 6 months, which is what he wanted to happen.
He didn't understand the rules on early release etc.

[Pabmusic]

the rules are made up and implemented piecemeal I guess , which can lead to things not happening as they should, or as we might want.
On my one experience of jury service, at the end of a week long trial for a fairly minor burglary of 3 men who were already doing time for similar offences, the judge ended up asking the barristers what sentence he had to pass , in order that they serve an extra 6 months, which is what he wanted to happen.
He didn't understand the rules on early release etc.

When I first joined the Prison Service (1981) I was posted to Pentonville. In those days (not now) the London male prisons were organised so that unconvicted prisoners were held at Brixton, 6-18 months and lifers were held at Wormwood Scrubs, over 18 months at Wandsworth and the short-termers and some unconvicteds at the Ville. Well obviously all those sentenced to 7 days for drunk and disorderly (or probably for non-payment of an earlier fine for the same offence) went to Pentonville. They included some real characters - all the regular drunks from the London area! - most of whom we knew by their first names, and several of whom gave splendid demonstrations of playing the spoons, singing, or Irish dancing (I can't think why Irish dancing).

Well, in those days the shortest practical sentence was 7 days. That meant you did 5 days unless you really messed up (automatic release at the two-thirds point, you see, unless you've lost remission for some reason). If their EDR (Earliest Date of Release) fell on a Saturday or Sunday, they were released on Friday morning, since we didn't release at weekends (no-one to staff Reception, you see - you have only half your staff on duty at weekends).

This meant little in the case of someone serving 2 years (parole wasn't available for those serving below 3 years). But if you were doing 7 days (meaning 5 served) and you were sentenced on a Wednesday, your release day would be Sunday - but we don't release on a Sunday, so you'd go out on Friday morning, together with those sentenced to 7 days on Monday and Tuesday of that week. If it was coming up to a Bank Holiday (we didn't release on Bank Holidays either) those sentenced on Thursday would be released Friday morning. And if there was a double Bank Holiday, like Christmas, then anyone sentenced on a Friday would be released immediately. This used to happen occasionally, when some inexperienced magistrate was sitting.

Anyway, several of our 'regulars' didn't like this. Prison was a warm, dry place to spend Christmas, or whatever, and I know of more that one instance of someone being released when he didn't want it, walking straight down the Caledonian Road and shoplifting a couple of (say) bottles of whisky, so that they'd be back inside (or at least in a police cell) over the holiday period.

I've no doubt all those characters have gone now. :rose:

[teamsaint]

very entertaining and interesting , Pab.

The civil service used to do things properly, if often maddeningly, back then. ( I was a junior manager in the Inland Revenue in the 80's).

[Pabmusic]

...lThe civil service used to do things properly, if often maddeningly, back then. ( I was a junior manager in the Inland Revenue in the 80's).

It seems to have changed when politicians started 'knee-jerk' reactions to events.

[amateur51]

So it looks as though Chris Huhne has landed a tasty little number ideally suited to his experience and contacts, and quite quickly too.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23655994

I wonder what proportion of the legal costs he finally ended up paying? I seem to remember that he was trying to negotiate a smaller sum at one point after the judgement.

Meanwhile, what of Vicky Pryce? She had to leave her previous job and has been stripped of her CB. I've not read anything about her plans for the future. This latest news about Huhne must leave her feeling monumentally cheesed off, I'd imagine. She's lost everything, it seems.

[french frank]

Meanwhile, what of Vicky Pryce? She had to leave her previous job and has been stripped of her CB. I've not read anything about her plans for the future. This latest news about Huhne must leave her feeling monumentally cheesed off, I'd imagine. She's lost everything, it seems.

http://tellymix.co.uk/reality-tv/big...3-line-up.html (6 hrs ago)

:erm:

[amateur51]

http://tellymix.co.uk/reality-tv/big...3-line-up.html (6 hrs ago)

:erm:

Lordy, she's got a book coming out in September too :yikes:

[scottycelt]

Lordy, she's got a book coming out in September too :yikes:

Of course she has ... imagine finally being able to 'dish the dirt' in print and getting paid a nice little sum for it into the bargain. Priceless!

I see that even Administrators are quite obviously missing the 'smileys' here as well ... :winkeye:

[Anna]

Lordy, she's got a book coming out in September too :yikes:

No doubt it includes a chapter on marital coercion and how to act the weak and feeble woman in front of a judge ....... Ooh, no sorry it's about her life in prison and lesbians ..... Ooh,... bet you a pound to a penny The Daily Mail serialise it! <sardonic banned smiley>

[amateur51]

Of course she has ... imagine finally being able to 'dish the dirt' in print and getting paid a nice little sum for it into the bargain. Priceless!

I see that even Administrators are quite obviously missing the 'smileys' here as well ... :winkeye:

And her husband has just glided into a job, just like that. No need for a book. Nice work if you can get it ... and you can get it if you're a bloke, apparently.