#pc harper

(I have a single request before you read this - read the entire entry, through to the end, and consider all of the consequences of what I'm saying, before you rush to judgement and decide I am a horrible person who should be attacked and condemned)

x=x=x=x=x=x

Our new Prime Minister is currently being attacked for the "early release of prisoners" scheme that is, amongst others, going to see two men who were involved in the death of a police officer let back on the streets before their full sentence is up.

And apparently he is "doing everything he can" to ensure they stay behind bars.

Which is something I find more than a little worrying. Because it means that our judicial system - a system that is supposed to be independent, and free from political bias - has turned into a political football. That the lives of these men are now being argued over in the press in an attempt to score cheap political points by one side or another.

You might say "what do we care? They are killers, criminals" and while that may be true, they are still human beings, and if they were your brothers, your sons, your fathers would you want their fates to be decided in the court of public opinion?

But my bigger worry is not just that. My bigger worry is more than these two men - two men who did something wrong seven years ago, and who may or may not have paid their debt to society and may or may not deserve to be released in the next few weeks.

My worry is that if we start letting politicians get involved in individual cases then where does it end.

These two men are currently the poster children (if you will pardon the phrase) for the early release scheme because they were involved in the death of a police officer.

However we've seen things in the past where someone has been up for probation - someone who has legitimately been on the list for probation, because they have served a good deal of their sentence and the law of the land says they are due for probation - but the press gets hold of the story and says "We disapprove of this person" so the opposition party says "IF WE WERE IN POWER WE WOULD NEVER LET THIS HAPPEN" and suddenly the person's life is not controlled by the law of the land, it is controlled by the court of public opinion. And controlled by politics.

If these two men had killed a poor, homeless guy in the same way, would anyone care they are about to be released? A man would still be dead - would still have died in the same brutal, horrific way. But the press wouldn't care, so their lives wouldn't matter.

If these two men had killed an immigrant, would anyone care they are about to be released? A man would still be dead - would still have died in the same brutal, horrific way. But the press wouldn't care, so their lives wouldn't matter.

Politics should not control our judicial system. It shouldn't control our legal system. If someone is worthy of probation, it shouldn't matter what their crime is, or what the press think of them, or what the public think of them.

And if someone is eligible for early release, they should be eligible for early release. It shouldn't be dependent on having someone famous who can lobby for them or against them. It shouldn't be dependent on the political feelings of the day. It shouldn't be dependent on the mob baying for their blood or a mob chanting for their release.

It shouldn't be a case of the crowd shouting CRUCIFY HIM and Pontius Pilate pointing to one or the other because their supporters can shout the loudest.

Our judicial system should not be episode after episode of reality television.

WE LIVE IN A COUNTRY GOVERNED BY THE RULE OF LAW

And if we are to believe in the law, we have to believe in the law.