Forum Topic

West Ealing Looter Should NOT Have Been Spared Jail

I was disappointed and frustrated to see that Judge Ian Darling, took the decision to spare 21 year old film student, Pierre Wilkinson, a custodial sentence for his involvement in the West Ealing riots, deciding that it was a "stupid and opportunistic moment of madness."I disagree.Mr Wilkinson made a calculated decision to participate in the riots. Anyone with an ounce of common sense remained indoors on those awful evenings. Mr Wilkinson, with the assistance of an accomplice, helped himself to a computer tower, a Blu-Ray player, a DVD recorder and a microwave looted from Seba Electronics, which as we all know took a hammering that evening.That in itself is a heinous criminal act which should have been punished by a custodial sentence. The Government and Mayor of London were adamant that all culprits of the riots would be found and dealt with appropriately. In the case of Mr Wilkinson, he has been given a very fortunate reprieve by a lenient Judge, who has, in my view, lost touch with the severity of these awful riots.Thoughts ?

David Ealing ● 5291d6 Comments

Mr EalingFact of the matter is that you "have very strong feelings ...and that [you think] the punishments being dished out are not strong enough".No harm done in punishing those that break the law. However, my post was not about this, but instead putting across my thoughts on why alternatives to prison can work. But, David, you disagree with me. Shall we just leave it at that?

Ben Owen ● 5286d

Thank you all for your thoughts and putting me straight on a couple of points.Most thanks go to Ben for his laughable suggestion that I may be too opinionated to consider other views. Sorry, did I not write "thoughts ?" at the end of my post ? Does that not mean that I'd like to hear the views of others ?Ben, you can throw all the statistics you want at me about prisons being overcrowded / how much it costs / number of re-offenders, etc. Fact of the matter is that as an Ealing resident, I have very strong feelings about these riots and particularly the vermin that were involved and that the punishments being dished out are not strong enough.Best,DE

David Ealing ● 5286d

Agreed,prison doesn't work,for a variety of reasons.One being an offender only serving half the given sentence.But there are other factors.It always surprises me that,especially after someone has committed a burglary or,in particular a violent crime or rape,that when they have come out of prison they are considered to have served their 'debt to society'.The debt they owe is not to society,but to the victim of their crime.

Keith Iddon ● 5289d

David,Firt, Jim Louten is right that he had served time on remand. If you don't know, with sentences less than 4 years you serve half your sentence in prison and the rest on licence. As he had already spent 2 months of his four month sentence in custody he was free to go to get on with his degree. But, do you really want to hear another point of view?  With such an opionated view, I doubt it! But, here are some statistics that may make you reconsider if prison is worthwhile. Reconviction rates for sentences of 12 months or less were almost twice those of offenders sentenced to carry out unpaid work (70% v 38%). Community Sentences, which amounts to unpaid work, are used to benefit the community. Nearly 9 million hours of unpaid work were done last year - and saves us, the taxpayer, a fortune.  Keeping people out of prison allows people to get on with their lives and gives them the potential to make a difference.The average cost of a prison place is £45k per year. We spend more on prisons per capita than the United States or any EU country. We should be aiming to reduce this and not increasing this!Prison has a very poor record of reducing reoffending, especially on shorter sentences. For those serving less than months reoffending is around 59%. I will leave you to decide for yourself if prison really works.

Ben Owen ● 5290d

May be his family could afford a TOP Legal teams, unlike some ofther rioters.

Jim Wong ● 5290d

Without hearing all the evidence and representations made in court it would be foolish to comment.Also, if this account in the Telegraph is to be believed your facts are incorrect. The student WAS given a custodial sentence and had already served time on remand, and was tagged.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8868284/London-riots-judge-spares-rioting-actor-whose-degree-at-risk.html

Jim Louten ● 5290d