6 Idiots Now Safely In Jail !

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24746019

Stupid men, who deserve what they got.

[emmie]

good, but you can't stop racism in football in other countries it would seem, going on the recent cases of disgusting behaviour by foreign so called fans.

[sandyRoe]

Were the sentences of 18 months not a bit on the long side? Any custodial sentence sends the message that such behaviour is unacceptable.

[mikey4444]

Sandy...if a custodial sentence is capable of sending a message that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable, how can 18 months be a "bit on the long side" ? Or have I read your reply wrongly ?

Other train users were left feeling intimidated and feared there was a real and significant risk of violence. It would seem that our public transport is well rid of these stupid young men, for a few months at least.

[doctordb]

Glad to see these cretins banged up. I'm sure these views are part of their daily conversations at work and in the pub, not just football grounds.

Football in this country has come a long way in its efforts to combat racism (with still more to do) but emmie is right that the problem is very strong elsewhere.

[sandyRoe]

I meant that 18 months seems to be a swingeing sentence. A 6 month sentence would have sent as clear a message. I've no sympathy with any of them and, as doctorb said, I'm sure it wouldn't just be on trains that they'd be mouthing their racist rubbish.

[Blackiequine]

Reality is anyone sentenced to 18 months will serve a small percentage if they behave themselves, or even if they don't.

[mikey4444]

Exactly Blackiequine, which is why anything less than 18 months wouldn't be a serious enough deterrent. Racism is alive and kicking in Britain today, and seems to be particularly pervasive in football. In South Wales where I live, Rugby is the big spectator sport and this kind of cretinous behaviour from badly educated young men is almost unknown, which I find very strange.

[ludwig]

// Were the sentences of 18 months not a bit on the long side? Any custodial sentence sends the message that such behaviour is unacceptable. //

I agree sandy. They're clearly obnoxious idiots, but this seems way over the top.

[ludwig]

// Reality is anyone sentenced to 18 months will serve a small percentage if they behave themselves, or even if they don't. //

This whole business of serving less than half the sentence you're given as standard is stupid in itself. If people deserve 3 months and not 18, they should be given 3 months and made to serve all (or at least the large majority) of it. That's another question though.

[EDDIE51]

They will serve 9 months as any sentence of under 4 years gives automatic release on the 1/2 way point. However if they are arrested for any offence during the rest of the 18 months they can be returned to jail without a further trial to serve the balance of the sentence.

[Blackiequine]

Eddie, You make it sound as if they'll serve half automatically, but for instance the Huhnes' served 2 months of an 8 month sentence.

[youngmafbog]

Safely in Jail? Did they actually hurt anyone? Idiots?

I'm an advocate for jail as a deterrent and fully agree with the sentence. I don't think they are idiots, just vile scum who knew exactly what they were doing.

What I will be interested in is the views of those on the liberal left on this site.

Many many times I have been castigated for suggesting lengthy sentences are a deterrent as the liberal left seem to think Jail should not be for a deterrent but just to rehabilitate.

[mikey4444]

Eddie...not sure of the automatic bit. Releasing criminals early, on licence, has been around for a long time. It helps solves the overcrowding problem in our jails and encourages good behaviour, whilst they are in prison. But I thought that they were liable for parole, rather than any automatic function.

Anyway, we all agree that these twits deserved being put away. There is far too much of this sort of thing happening around football, but not rugby, which, as I said, I don't really understand. Both sports take their spectators from the same sort of background, mainly working class men but rugby seems pleasantly free of racism.

[mikey4444]

ymg...I think I may be on the liberal left, and I fully agree with the sentence. Nobody on here is suggesting that they shouldn't be in prison, just a debate about the length of sentence. We all seem to be singing from broadly the same hymn sheet, which I find very refreshing !

[anotheoldgit]

Jailed for singing on a train Mmm.

I think I take the Liberal Left's attitude here, they should just have been taken aside and given a good talking to, funny no one has suggested that solution yet.

Just as a matter of interest, I wonder if a person can be jailed for singing Irish rebel songs?

[ToraToraTora]

I think what YMB is saying mikey is that if we'd been talking about a burglar you'd be wanting to send them on safari. I'ts ok to punish the bad guys as long as they've done something that hits the radar of the right on brigade!

[youngmafbog]

Nail on the head TTT.

Not sure I would class you as liberal left Mickey. You don't strike me as the right-on sort.

[mikey4444]

Why thank you ymb...I think ? !