buzzanddidj wrote on May 31
st, 2011 at 3:28pm:
THE
Baillieu Government
and the Herald Sun are giving
Herald-Sun readers
a significant opportunity to give their views on sentencing for a range of crimes.
The survey of tens of thousands of our readers will provide the Government with an in-depth indication of their opinions.
Readers will be asked if they strongly agree or disagree with the minimum sentences being considered.
And don't forget your "Be Magistrate for a Day"
scratch card in the Weekend Herald-Sun
Lucky winners will be given a wig and gavel (little hammer) and spend a day sentencing in one of Victoria's Magistrate Courts
THE Baillieu Government and the Herald Sun are giving Victorians a significant opportunity to give their views on sentencing for a range of crimes.
The survey of tens of thousands of our readers will provide the Government with an in-depth indication of their opinions.
People will be asked if they strongly agree or disagree with the minimum sentences being considered, particularly for crimes of violence.
Readers of the Herald Sun, which has long campaigned against alcohol-related assaults, have been asked by the Coalition to take part in delivering its promised review on law-and-order issues.
Community expectations are often frustrated by soft sentencing that puts an emphasis on the offender's rehabilitation, rather than punishment for crimes that destroy the lives of victims and their families.
Where is the justice? These four words are voiced by many who have suffered from violent crime.
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This is not the first time this newspaper has joined with a Coalition government in calling for the opinion of the people. The Kennett government in 1996 called for people to give their verdict.
Those who opposed the survey, calling Victorians rednecks who would bring back capital punishment, were dumbfounded by the results.
Only 13 per cent called for the return of the death sentence and only 30 per cent believed offences under the influence of drugs or alcohol should receive longer sentences. But 60 per cent said a rapist who threatened to kill his victims should receive extra punishment.
Now the Sentencing Act has again been called into question and Herald Sun readers are once again being asked for the reasoned and thorough consideration they gave 15 years ago.
The new survey will provide the Government with the same powerful tool for reform. The judiciary will have the opportunity to reflect on the sentencing being handed d
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Herald-Sun Readers to Decide Sentencing (Read 312 times)
