Category Archives: Crime and Punishment

Torture in British prisons

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From here:

All prisoners in England and Wales could be banned from watching channels such as Sky Sports in their cells, a government minister has indicated.

Offenders in private prisons are able to access pay-TV channels for a small weekly fee, but inmates in publicly run jails can only watch free-to-air ones.

Asked on Tuesday whether this would continue, Prisons Minister Jeremy Wright said “not for much longer”.

The brutality of taking pay TV channels away from convicted criminals is a barbarity that defies belief. I am lost for words.

A different way of turning the other cheek

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From here:

An order of friars, fed up at having Bibles stolen from their church, have put up a very unholy warning urging thieves to be struck down from high with – diarrhoea.

The Franciscan Friars have turned the other cheek at a series of brazen thefts of the holy book from pews within their 594-year-old church.

But now they have had enough, and there have been a few raised eyebrows at the tone – and nature – of the bizarre warning that has been posted at the entrance.

In both English and Italian, it reads: ‘We pray to the Lord that these thieves are struck down by a strong case of diarrhoea and that this will be a stimulus for them not to steal.’

If it’s good enough for friars, it’s good enough for me. Bishop Michael Bird won’t know what hit him next time he tries to steal a church building; I have the notice ready to pin on the door.

The Anglican Church of Canada doesn’t approve of more incarceration for criminals

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From here:

The Anglican Church of Canada’s long-time partner, the Church Council on Justice and Corrections (CCJC), has criticized a federal plan that would increase prison capacity and rates of incarceration. CCJC has prepared an information packet for churches and is encouraging all Canadians to consider the implications of this plan.

“Proposed new federal laws will ensure that more Canadians are sent to prison for longer periods, a strategy that has been repeatedly proven neither to reduce crime nor to assist victims,” wrote CCJC president Laurent Champagne in a recent letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“Increasing levels of incarceration by marginalized people is counter-productive and undermines human dignity in our society,” he wrote. He encouraged the government to consider other methods of dealing with offenders, including well-supervised probation or release, bail options, reporting centres, and supportive housing programs.

There are two ways to reduce crime: the first and best option is to bring the criminal into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ; the second is summary execution.

The Anglican Church of Canada is in favour of neither.