Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Woe to England >link<

The story linked to above boggles the mind. An 18 year old Englishman with record of prior convictions for burglary was recently awarded over a $1.1 million in damages by a jury for injuries he sustained 9 years ago (when he was 9?) when he fell through the roof of a warehouse.

What was he doing on the roof? Who knows. I assume that his convictions for burglary took place after his big fall.

Boasting about his new-found wealth in his first public interview after the award, Murphy said he was going to buy "a few houses and a flash car" and was unconcerned about the negative response from the public."I deserve this money and I don't care what anyone says about me," Murphy stated. "I'm going to buy a big house so I have a place to live with me mum when she gets out of jail." Mum is behind bars for three years for selling crack and heroin.

Continued Murphy: "I might buy a few houses. I'll buy whatever I want. The papers call me a yob and a thug because I've been done for robbery and assault but those were just silly stupid little things, like."

The payout to Murphy, reports Peter Zimonjic in London's Daily Telegraph, has been criticized by those who point out that crime victims receive far less under the government's criminal injuries compensation system, "The parents of James Bulger received just L7,500 following his murder," Zimonjic explains, "and the family of Damilola Taylor received L10,000 following his murder," i.e., for murder, these families received less than 2 percent of what Murphy was awarded.

This is obscene! Even worse, consider the fact that England discourages people from protecting themselves. One rural homeowner who shot and killed an intruder was convicted of murder and served a lengthy prison sentence. English law seems to be resolute on making England safe for criminals. One wonders why they even bother having a criminal justice system anymore.

Zimonjic reports that residents of Bootle, where Murphy lives, are fearful of speaking publicly about the case but that privately they describe him as the "king yob" in the area. "He shaves his head so we can all see the scars," said one. "He likes to walk around and play the big man. I've seen him yelling abuse at the shopkeepers, telling them how he is going to buy the shop with his compensation money and throw them out. He is a villain around here. Everybody knows him but no one wants to confront him. He has a big family and they all stand up for each other."

Murphy's response: "I want to spend my money the way I want without people interfering and I want to have a prosperous future. I want to take my mates to Liverpool games and get a flash car. The money is mine now and I'll do what I want. I don't care what they have to say about it. It annoys me that people think I don't deserve this money after all I've been through. I'm going to spend my money on whatever I want and everyone who called me 'Tin Head' can go get stuffed."

This reminds me of a conversation I had at the Federalist Society Lawyer's Convention. One of my colleagues told me that there are some states where Public Defenders are elected officials. He then asked, "Can you imagine their campaigns? 'Vote for me, I will be soft on crime.' Or, 'I will get guilty people acquited.'"

Any society that rewards criminals, or at least diminishes the risks and costs of being a criminal, is soon going to find itself awash with criminals. All this from a country where the people more and more hate Americans and Jews. Maybe they should start hating themselves as well.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home