“CRIME & PUNISHMENT” – By Des Kelly

A book written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a Russian Author in 1866 was a novel that was considered a very “goodread”, however, Australia, this Island Continent that so many of us now call home, was actually “born” around the time Fyodor wrote his book, although the actual history of this huge block of Land is around sixty thousand years old, and the Aborigines lived here then, went “walkabout” quite happily, before the White-man came in, to ruin everything for them, or so they (the Aborigines), claim.

However, my “History” of Australia will have to come later, as I concentrate on the Crime & Punishment question in this fair, (or is it unfair Land) ?. The latest news is about this Nutcase who drove a car around the Melbourne C.B.D., purposely killing six people, including a baby, gets arrested, goes to Court and is given six separate “life-sentences”, one for each of the poor victims he killed, giving each of them a “death-sentence”, for life, in doing so.

A long time ago, when I was a boy, there used to be a song my dad sang, the first verse of which had lyrics like this:-

“The Courtroom was crowded, the Judge entered there,

The prisoner was crying, as he faced “the chair”

The sentence was sharp, folks, it cut like a knife,

For ninety nine years, folks, that’s almost for life”!.

I thought about this song and found myself thinking once again, about the Archaic Laws of Modern Australia. I have not studied law, actually feel pity for some of the Judges here, who are forced to hand out sentences like this one, where this murderer may still be able to walk out of prison, aged 75, + after being given 6 Life Sentences. It certainly does not make any sense to me. Forty six years, nowadays, is akin to half a lifetime, long, though it may be, but where does the recognition of the terrible sadness of all the loved ones of the six victims come in ?. Naturally, they wonder that if one of these innocent victims was related to this Judge, would the Sentence be even slightly sharper ?. The sentence (according to the law)was ONLY 46 years. HOW could this relate to SIX LIFE SENTENCES, I’ll never know.

He may make any excuse under the sun, but nobody FORCED him to drug himself, then drive his car directly at people walking around a Street in Melbourne (or anywhere else, for that matter), & to make bad matters worse, he was on bail, when he did it, making me believe that ” bail-justice” is as useless as “teats on a bull”. If PROVEN guilty of crimes like MURDER (fullstop)!,a criminal should serve a Life Sentence (for the term of his/her natural life, NO BAIL, NO PAROLE, NO BULLCRAP, WITH HARD LABOUR, without the “Hotel-Service” they get in Australian jails, and if they are found to be mentally insane, locked up in a REAL asylum for life. Treated, if need be, but still locked up, permanently.

Australia is still not Archaic, although their Law-System certainly appears to be, it is high time these laws are changed, criminals adequately punished, and VICTIMS not victimised even more than they have already been.

My “music-clip” today is especially for the loved ones of the victims of this horrible crime. We, at eLanka send our sincere condolences to each & every one of you, and may the ones senselessly slain, now Rest in Peace.