5 years seems to be the sentence to be given, as Oscar Pistorius was just handed this for the culpable homicide of his late girlfriend. I still question the intent behind his actions, but regardless of whether he knew it was his girlfriend or not, he killed someone. Shooting four times is more likely to kill, than just wound, so I’m not quite sure how this would constitute manslaughter. People have had longer sentences for white collar crimes like embezzlement and fraud. As disruptive and harmful as these crimes are, surely the worst thing you can do is take someone’s life?
In all honesty though, the main reason I oppose the death penalty is because I think it makes it easier for the criminal. I think life without the chance of parole (or a whole life tariff for the UK) is a much worse punishment. If someone told me that I had to spend the rest of my life in a tiny cell with someone else; a toilet centimetres from my head, and knowing that I would only be let out of the cell for an hour a day, I would start to see the death penalty as appealing. Although, knowing me, I’d have an army of b*tches and would probably rule the prison so maybe life wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Some people oppose the death penalty for being too punitive. Obviously, prison is supposed to be a punishment but it also meant to rehabilitate offenders. If we hand down the death penalty, we are taking away the chance for prisoners to reform and possibly become contributing members of society.
And this brings me right back to Ched Evans. There is currently a petition against him being able to resume his role as a footballer. I imagine it would be hard for the victim to know that he has walked out of prison into a well paying job that would also have an element of glory. Additionally, she may be faced with having to watch him or see images which I am sure may hinder any progress she may have made since his conviction. I don’t think it would be fair for him to get his job back as I think it would send the wrong message. However, should he be punished because his talent was football? Does that mean that a convicted singer should never perform again? Or a shop assistant should never have another retail job? There are some jobs where you wouldn’t be able to resume your career if convicted of a crime like this, such as being a lawyer or a teacher. But should people be punished for their chosen career paths? Administrative assistants would probably be able to go back into the world of work but someone in a more affluent or popular position may be denied the same right.
I was watching a show on BBC3 the other day about poor white South Africans. They interviewed different races for their take on the matter. Many black people refused to believe that there were White South Africans living in poverty, but the TV show showed this to be true. There was a lack of sympathy for these white SA’s from other races, which was apparent to all. But many of the poor whites argued that apartheid was not their choice or decision. It was not something they had anything to do with and they shouldn’t be punished for it. Whilst I agree with that, given how recently events took place in South Africa, it is understandable that there would still be a lot of anger and resentment from the ethnicities that were oppressed during that time period. Enough people in SA today will still be able to remember those times so forgiveness may not come quite so easily. My brother (who was watching it with me) used one of my favourite sayings:
‘An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind’ (Mahatma Ghandi)
Which is so true. And where would it end? The need for vengeance would perpetuate the cycle and in the end, we would all lose. But it is easy to sound forgiving and appear righteous when the issue does not affect you directly. We would be more punitive if we were related to the victim in some way, and we would want leniency if the we knew the perpetrator and mercy if we were the perp.
When I was 8 years old, I got bored and decided to prank call the Police. When the operator answered I giggled my way through a ‘shut up’ before hanging up. I then paced backwards and forwards before pausing in fear every time the phone rang. For the next two weeks, I hardly slept due to the fear that the Police had traced my address through my landline and a SWAT team would be ready to come through the windows to arrest me at any point.
When I was a teenager, I accidentally walked out of the Balham Superdrug without paying for a scrunchie. I completely forgot it was in my hand until I was a few feet away. I was tempted to go back into the shop to explain but panicked, thinking that no one would believe my story. Knowing that I was already on the Police radar for my pranking antics, I decided to keep the scrunchie (which I never used) and never returned to that Superdrug.
A few months ago, whilst doing a long shop, I got peckish and found myself munching away at the bag of grapes in my trolley. 30 minutes into my shop, I reach my hand into the bag, only to find empty plastic. The problem with grapes is that you pay based on weight, so there was no way to be charged for the
grapes that were sitting satisfyingly in my belly. I abandoned my shopping trolley, returned to my car where I threw a jacket on and changed my hair style in the hope that any security guard chasing me would be fooled into believing that I was my twin sister. DENY DENY DENY! (isn’t that right OJ?!).
I’ve noticed that even when I know I am innocent, I can’t help but look anything but. If I am ever driving past a Police car or walking past a Police Officer, I find myself suddenly behaving awkwardly. In my attempt to ‘act natural’ I usually do something so stupid that I draw attention to myself. After a night clubbing in London, my friends were raving it up in the back of my car which caught the eye of some Police Officers. I calmly pulled over and in my attempt to assure the officers that I had not touched a drop of alcohol (which I genuinely hadn’t), I tripped over the door frame, falling out of my car and into the arms of a Policeman. There was no romantic ending, just an awkward one as he helped me right myself and tried to accuse me of speeding. These days, that would have been true but at the time, I was driving an N reg Vauxhall Corsa that was almost as old as me and with 5 people, it was crawling down Brixton High Street at 15mph. Despite my drunken appearance, the Officer waved me on my way.
As much as I joke about not minding going to prison because I could use the time to get ripped, I don’t think I would last an hour. On my first day of school, university, moving out and first plane journey alone, I called my mother crying. I’m just too delicate to be a prisoner! But unless eating grapes becomes a crime (yes I know theft is a crime!) I think that I’ll be safe for now.
Except from hostile readers of this blog. After my last post about conspiracy theories, which was so clearly written in jest, I was sent a comment telling me that I should experience more of life before I share my views. I deleted it (so don't bother looking) because I didn't want negativity on my site.
I don’t know the answers. I don’t know what’s right or wrong. So to people wanting to leave comments on my page telling me that it’s ‘my opinion’ and I write from ‘my perspective’, know that I never claimed to do otherwise. This is my blog, literally based on MY thoughts and MY feelings. So it would go without saying that all of the things on here are based on my outlook. I am not an authority on anything. I am just a person trying to navigate my way through this world, which I have found to be tricky and oftentimes, a painful process. There are many things that I can’t change, so I am doing my best to accept them. One of the ways I am learning to do that is to poke fun at things, even with serious topics. Sorry if this offends people, but if I don’t take myself seriously, then you shouldn’t either. This blog is not designed to present facts or provide an education. It is for light relief and food for thought. If you don’t like that, then with the utmost respect, stop reading it. There are so many depressing things going on in this world, I’m just trying to make people smile. Because at the end of a hard day, I need something to put a smile on my face and that’s what I’m trying to do for y’all :-)