An independent review has found Justice Graeme Panckhurst guilty of a disproportionate reaction that was quite simply 'over the top'. He has been sentenced to 3 years jail.
It doesn't matter what was going through Justice Panckhurst's mind at the time, it is clear he has made a terrible mistake, and he must therefore pay. Three years jail is letting him off pretty lightly. The police, when considering the case that caused this unreasonable action from Panckhurst, noted that the victim was being sentenced to jail and the aggressor completely let off. Effectively, Justice Panckhurst was guilty of kidnapping and obstructing justice.
This will send a strong message to the community. You can't have judges going around handing out disproportionate sentences. He may see his actions as 'simply doing his job' but he really should have considered things more carefully than what appears to have been a 'heat of the moment' sentencing decision.
It doesn't matter what was going through Justice Panckhurst's mind at the time, it is clear he has made a terrible mistake, and he must therefore pay. Three years jail is letting him off pretty lightly. The police, when considering the case that caused this unreasonable action from Panckhurst, noted that the victim was being sentenced to jail and the aggressor completely let off. Effectively, Justice Panckhurst was guilty of kidnapping and obstructing justice.
This will send a strong message to the community. You can't have judges going around handing out disproportionate sentences. He may see his actions as 'simply doing his job' but he really should have considered things more carefully than what appears to have been a 'heat of the moment' sentencing decision.
A young chef is going home from work late at night on a Christchurch bus. He is by himself and minding his own business. A group of young thugs start harassing him because he happens to be wearing a red sweatshirt – and red, in this pathetic aping of Los Angeles street culture, is the colour of a rival gang. He is spat on and a cigarette lighter is thrown at him. The bus security video reportedly shows him cowering and frightened. As the bullies leave the bus, the 21-year-old chef is punched in the mouth. He takes out his chef's knife, which he is carrying in a bag with his apron and hat, and lashes out. He stabs one of his tormentors, a 15-year-old, in the side and nearly kills him.Related Link: Karl du Fresne - The law has lost its sense of proportion on self-defence
The upshot? Hill was sentenced to two years' jail on a charge of injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
When a man gets a longer sentence for defending himself against an unprovoked attack than a thug gets for beating an innocent person, then both the law and the country have lost any right to respect.
ReplyDeleteNever mind the invented "rights" the U.N. and it's apologists are always prattling on about, the right to self-defence is the most fundamental of all, because without that right none of the others are possible.
No government or legal system has the right to deprive citizens of that and I refuse to recognise their legitimacy as long as they persist in trying.
In that respect at least, I'll break the law whenever necessary.
Time to elect Stephen Franks back to Parliament. He is the only poly I know with the balls to tackle this sort of nonsense.
ReplyDeleteThe cops are becoming a byword for pathetic and there must be someone among them that is sufficiently ashamed of what the force has become to get vocal.
Yes, Stephen Franks was good value and had a lot of interesting things to say about crime and punishment.
ReplyDeleteThis whole story really makes me despair for NZ. My thoughts are for young Hill who does not deserve this treatment on top of being terrorized by a gang of thugs.
They were the ones that invited unintended consequences, they are the ones that need to live with it.
I don't understand why we have not heard that they were charged with assault, let alone charged with 'incitement to murder', even though it was their own potential murder they were inciting.
It gets worse of course:
Astonishingly, the police originally charged Hill with attempted murder.