Sex, crime and the French
A bleak tale of our times, told during a holiday reunion party south of Paris at the weekend, fuelled some more thoughts on the glaring inconsistencies that crop up in criminal justice.
Some of you may recall my mention in passing, while discussing crime and punishment elsewhere, the horror I felt when a French court jailed Margaret MacDonald for four years for running a superior call-girl service.
She broke the law. But there wasn't the least hint of coercion or exploitation in anything she did. No sex slaves, no unwilling, downtrodden girls beaten into submission by evil pimps.
You did not have to approve of prostitution to think that MacDonald had been given a vicious sentence, for as close as you get to a victimless crime, and that it made a mockery of France's supposedly grown-up and tolerant approach to sex.
The investigation that led to her trial was protracted and complex, and must have cost the French authorities a small fortune.
Will the same energy and resources be devoted to finding and prosecuting the gang that burgled Pascal and Laurence, one of the couples I met after paying good money to be tossed about in a catamaran in the French West Indies a few months ago?
This was no ordinary burglary. The gang carried it out with ruthlessness and near-military precision, taking advantage of opened windows during the hot summer to gas my friends as they slept before stripping their home of all valuables.
Police suspect, from tracking the use of mobile phones stolen in the raid, that the gang is based in Seine St Denis, the tough Neuf-trois suburb north of Paris, but originates in Romania.
How many times more vile than Margaret MacDonald does their crime make them? But what are the true prospects of them being caught, and how long would they then spend in jail?
At a guess, I'd say they would feel a little unfortunate to be hunted down at all, and really unlucky to pick up jail terms much stiffer than hers.
Of course, anomalies occur in every country's approach to crime, and civilised nations are hardly exempt.
Canada has hardly covered itself in glory in its treatment of Nathalie Gettliffe.
Blair's Britain was rightly condemned for delivering the NatWest Three and an alleged computer hacker to American justice, where they face - if convicted - ludicrously disproportionate sentences way beyond anything a court in the UK would impose.
Indonesia hands out a car-bombing sentence to an Australian girl stupid enough to arrive on holiday with some cannabis on her, and lets off someone involved in the Bali terrorist attacks with rapped knuckles.
I am occasionally accused of being too liberal on penal issues. Yet I hope with all the fervour of a hang 'em and flog 'em Colonel Blimp that my friends live to see their aggressors brought to justice and that the penalties handed out do not merely raise a few smirks in the dock. Forgive me, though, if I am not holding my breath.
By Colin Randall @ Monday, October 23, 2006 ¦
27 Comments:
I was burgled a few years ago. It woz gypsies wot dunnit gov, honnist!
It was, actually. They were camped not 50m away and could watch at their leisure our comings and goings. We were in a ground floor flat with laughable security.
The perpetrators just had to lift up our crappy sliding windows and let themselves in. Three months later, having been reimbursed by the insurance, but not having bought anything, they came back to nick the new stuff.
Thwarted, having nicked the CD player, but not the CDs originally, to encourage us to buy a new one, they nicked the CD collection.
We used the money as part of a down-payment on a flat.
Were the cops interested? Negative, Captain.
Sympathies for your friends, but I can't find much sympathy for the Nat West Three. As for computer hackers, I hope our cousins across the water lock him up and throw away the key.
Not saying the hacker or the NatWest Three should go unpunished if guilty (with an emphasis on If). As a matter of simple principle, however, Britain should not deliver its citizens to the judicial system of another country unless satisfied that they will not be treated more unfavourably than if tried in the UK.
If we want the sordid overt prostitution of Soho we'll let the Macdonalds off the hook. She knew what she was up for with the Madame Claude precedent.
Bill, strangely the French don't get as excited about it as Colin does. A senator (I think he was) went to see how she was being treated and reported back that it was pretty good.
Bill's hopes of winding me up by distorting my views are doomed. The two sides to the story I have described have rather little to do with Nathalie Gettliffe vs Scott Grant - which I am sure is covered with absolute even-handedness by the Canadian press - and almost everything to do with jailed pregnant woman (now mother and baby) vs scandalous refusal to make the bail arrangements that would have satisfied both humanitarian principles and the need to ensure she stands trial.
10:10 PM
And who are you then AG you with big wooden spoon for what ? Maybe to stir things up when things are to quite I think. You say you see dustbins which means the blog is yours. Perhaps you are Madame Randall even the great man himself I say to myself.
Justice is ever a thorny problem to wrestle with. Which punishments for which crimes? And what constitutes a crime in the first place? Prostitution doesn't need to be laden with violence, abuse, exploitation and drug use, but it often is. Burglars can't be punished unless they are caught, and unless the evidence is there to ensure a conviction. Where are our priorities? Are they on barring smoking from all public places and taking driving licences away from those who have driven 5 or 10 km per hour over the posted limit several times over the space of a few years? And what about the 80-year-old woman who strangled her disabled daughter after caring for her for 42 years?
Who shall cast the first stone?
prostitution = tax evasion
Serious crime already, not counting the drugs, threats and roughing up.
I spy with my little eye, someone called ?
AG ?
CR ?
Now that was norty, CR. Furst you hint that my spelling is not all it shud be. Then you delete your comment altogether. And all this is happening wile that BT/JH/Diogenes is in the Land of Nod.
And now your comment is back again. Who's playing little games with that dustbin then. Mr or Mme ?
So now we have to start a guessing game to figure out who anonymous is. Any suggestions? Anne I believe you may have a good idea.
Was just passing by. Wont bother you again. Split personalties worry me too.
Hi Anne, none of the geeks seem to have a reply. My experience is that the computer world is always loaded with bugs, very frustrating. There is more focus on gizmos than practical solutions. But no doubt that reflects consumer behaviour.
Colin seems to have gone to sleep on us. Maybe he is trodding the pavements looking for enough to live on, though I doubt it.
Perhaps he is depressed over the state of divided, defeated Britain and does not want to show his face to the triumphant francophiles. More likely. I was surprised on the Telegraph opinion blog over the evidently strong anti Scottish and anti Welsh feeling. When will these 2 countries take an example from Ireland and get a divorce? They would fit nicely into Europe.
Well I suppose I did have the absurdly optimistic thought that if eight million people tuned in to Prime Suspect, a few of them might also find their way to a blog posting about their reason for watching it. I may have to lift my vow of (temporary) silence on the presidential race sooner than planned......
Comments are identified by time of posting, but not date. This is confusing when trying to follow the commentary. If Colin is aiming for a 'long tail' of commentary ('persistence' sells ads) then this should be fixed. - MH
Is not the Telegraph strike about money rather than the disgraceful restructuring? I am always ashamed of the way human beings let their fellow souls go to the gaz ovens while reclaiming the vacated blankets. No doubt I would be no better given the circumstances.
Anne I am watching the stock markets, the blogs are boring. What with Colin snoozing, begging, chatting up pimps who knows? And the Brits losing their stuffing over Iraq.The Telegraph belongs to Hollinger International? Is that quoted anywhere?
For those curious to observe the behaviour of the Brits I invite you to visit the blogs of two erstwhile visitors to Colin’s blog. Colin Berry, alias alphabet soup, and Sarah Hague, colleague in escapades of Louise. I asked CB a reasonable question, what is he doing in France in his declining years taking advantage of the excellent French public services. We all know that these services would not be available if we were stingy taxpayers like the English and notably CB during his adult working life. Am I not entitled, having paid French taxes throughout most of my working life, to an explanation as to the moral grounds on which the continuance of his presence in France is acceptable? Well our verbose relic has not allowed my posts, which I accept, the question is embarrassing, but strangely he then posts an abusive post against me which bares no relation to the question I raised. As for Sarah she posts abusive comments against me while blocking any right of reply. For those who have not had close up intimate experience of English customs, this is what they call a level playing field.
Incidentally I am fully unbored. Gorgeous French meal last night. Langoustine, venison,cheese, pear thing all accompanied with a 2000 cru bourgeois haut medoc. Only 100 euro for myself and my loyal companion through life's trials (caused mainly by you know who)and right on my door step. So now its off to my beautiful Bretagne for a weeks rest and relaxation. Not to forget fish chez Doris on the sea front and crêpes next to the rollers at point de raz.
To receive a post from R/O these days is the verbal equivalent of finding a steaming deposit on one's doormat. I kid thee not. Initially I left them up, so that visitors to my new blog could see for themselves what happens when rights become divorced from responsibilities. I then posted to Sarah Hague's site, while they were still up, saying they would not remain so indefinitely. I finally deleted them this morning, pointing out that I now have friends and family visiting my site. However, his comments are still on file, and if anyone reading this wishes to judge for themselves whether R/O has been treated unfairly, then they have only to email me, and I will send a copy of the thread in question.
Colin Berry
sciencebod01@aol.com
To receive a post from R/O these days is the verbal equivalent of finding a steaming deposit on one's doormat. I kid thee not. Initially I left them up, so that visitors to my new blog could see for themselves what happens when rights become divorced from responsibilities. I then posted to Sarah Hague's site, while they were still up, saying they would not remain so indefinitely. I finally deleted them this morning, pointing out that I now have friends and family visiting my site. However, his comments are still on file, and if anyone reading this wishes to judge for themselves whether R/O has been treated unfairly, then they have only to email me, and I will send a copy of the thread in question.
Colin Berry
sciencebod01@aol.com
To receive a post from R/O these days is the verbal equivalent of finding a steaming deposit on one's doormat. I kid thee not. Initially I left them up, so that visitors to my new blog could see for themselves what happens when rights become divorced from responsibilities. I then posted to Sarah Hague's site, while they were still up, saying they would not remain so indefinitely. I finally deleted them this morning, pointing out that I now have friends and family visiting my site. However, his comments are still on file, and if anyone reading this wishes to judge for themselves whether R/O has been treated unfairly, then they have only to email me, and I will send a copy of the thread in question.
Colin Berry
sciencebod01@aol.com
PS Apologies for the triplicate posting. It was not intended as an attention-getting device, but the result of switching to Blogger Beta this morning. There are differences that take a while to get used to.
Thanks Bill. I know we've had our differences, but your support is much appreciated.
So our Antibes scribbler has decided that all there is to a state are dentist and doctors bills. A fair summary of the beliefs of a Thatcherite. No Mr Hippopotamus there are the streets you walk in, the health and safety professionals who fight legionnaires disease, the flowered cities, the healthy food, the generally safe streets, the public transport, the unpolluted countryside etc etc. You spent your life refusing to finance these services why should you now benefit from them. Off with you, to a UK privatised zoo.
Conflict of interest: I am Colin Berry's daughter and proud of it
Given that my father has spent the last twenty five or so years sitting through my interminable school plays and out of tune concerts, I thought it was about time I took an interest in his hobbies (or at least feigned interest). I had heard a lot about this blogging thing but never read any of it.
I typed his name into Google, and unfortunately instead of finding his own blog straight away got directed to Colin Randall's blog. It is not the author's pieces but the visitors' comments that concern me. I am horrified by what I have just read. What vile, unjustified nonsense from several people who I assume are old enough to know better. Disagreeing with someone's point of view is one thing; descending to this level of abuse is quite another. A little fresh air and brisk exercise will do you all good (that includes you, dad). As a child I was told off for spending too much time on the computer. The circle of life is a funny old thing.
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