There are two sides to every story, and the papers have run the side of the prosecution pretty hard. I'm no expert on the full details of his crimes, but I'm not entirely ignorant either. So without going into detail, I just thought I'd drop an opinion.
Six years jail seems far too harsh for me, given the crime. Because ultimately, he was trying to help people in his own way. When I think of the rorts and legalized scandals other MP's get away with - declaring something a mistake and quickly paying back the money when pushed - such as the Green double-dipping on rental properties; Labour's Election spending in the 2005 elections; Bill English arranging his affairs to get maximum perks; Winston Peters and NZ First lack of transparency over their donations; the list goes on and on, and Field's crimes seem no worse. He just didn't back-pedal.
It is the mark of the man that he has accepted the verdict of the court in good grace, and not continued to argue his innocence, as the guilty often do. Six years of a good man's life seems harsh when I see criminals in for crimes of cruelty and violence, built on a history of other crimes, many never punished, serving far less time. Something seems off here.
This is one case I would not contest early Parole, or home detention. Good luck Taito Phillip Field.
Related Link: Taito Phillip Field in for a long long time
Six years jail seems far too harsh for me, given the crime. Because ultimately, he was trying to help people in his own way. When I think of the rorts and legalized scandals other MP's get away with - declaring something a mistake and quickly paying back the money when pushed - such as the Green double-dipping on rental properties; Labour's Election spending in the 2005 elections; Bill English arranging his affairs to get maximum perks; Winston Peters and NZ First lack of transparency over their donations; the list goes on and on, and Field's crimes seem no worse. He just didn't back-pedal.
It is the mark of the man that he has accepted the verdict of the court in good grace, and not continued to argue his innocence, as the guilty often do. Six years of a good man's life seems harsh when I see criminals in for crimes of cruelty and violence, built on a history of other crimes, many never punished, serving far less time. Something seems off here.
This is one case I would not contest early Parole, or home detention. Good luck Taito Phillip Field.
Related Link: Taito Phillip Field in for a long long time