Ronnie Biggs released!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nix
  • Start date Start date

Nix

Nix

Nix

Soldato
Joined
26 Dec 2005
Posts
19,841
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8188479.stm

Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs has been granted release from his prison sentence on compassionate grounds, Justice Secretary Jack Straw said.

The 79-year-old inmate at Norwich Prison was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in June suffering from a chest infection.

He was refused parole by Justice Secretary Jack Straw last month.

Mr Straw rejected a recommendation by the Parole Board which said the risk Biggs posed was "manageable".
Click to expand...

A good decision, finally. One can't help but wonder if Mr Straw was deliberately dragging his feet through the sand to make a point.
 
I agree with Straw's decision not to grant parole. Biggs has never shown any remorse and if he hadn't run out of cash and needed our help when he got ill, he would never have returned to the UK to serve out his sentence - the latter which he still has not done.

(Note he hasn't been granted parole today as such, there is a distinction.)
 
Last edited:
He is guilty and should serve out his prison sentance. There are plenty of other people who have died in prison, I don't understand why there should be an exception for Biggs.
 
True, but the fact still remains: whilst he is ill he is not a threat and our justice system is not about punishment but about rehabilitation. You are not going to rehabilitate Biggs this late in the game (I agree if he was in good health then he should be left inside prison). What we're left with when we look at it objectively is simply a case for humanitarian grounds. If he's going to die, then let him at least do it outside of prison. He is not guilty of anything other then robbing the train; he was not the one to murder the driver/engineer.

Incidently, for parole to be granted doesn't he actually have to show remorse anyway?
 
Nix said:
True, but the fact still remains: whilst he is ill he is not a threat and our justice system is not about punishment but about rehabilitation. You are not going to rehabilitate Biggs this late in the game (I agree if he was in good health then he should be left inside prison). What we're left with when we look at it objectively is simply a case for humanitarian grounds. If he's going to die, then let him at least do it outside of prison. He is not guilty of anything other then robbing the train; he was not the one to murder the driver/engineer.

Incidently, for parole to be granted doesn't he actually have to show remorse anyway?
Click to expand...

Why? He hasn't served the sentence he was given, and if he dies in prison whilst serving it then so be it!
 
Nix said:
He is not guilty of anything other then robbing the train; he was not the one to murder the driver/engineer.
Click to expand...
The law doesn't see it that way; he shares the responsibility for that and rightly so.

Incidently, for parole to be granted doesn't he actually have to show remorse anyway?
Click to expand...
Yes and he hasn't been granted parole, partially for that reason.
 
m0r94n said:
I say we send him back to Argentina then.
Click to expand...

That's a completely fair point. What if his family were the ones to foot the medical bill though as opposed to the state?

dirtydog said:
The law doesn't see it that way; he shares the responsibility for that and rightly so.


Yes and he hasn't been granted parole, partially for that reason.
Click to expand...

I agree that he shares responsibility, but his actions are not one of a murderer though; merely a thief. I just simply see this as a case of whether to have someone die in prison or not, and the fact that he's not a serial murderer or anything which dismisses compassion - I believe he should be allowed to die outside of prison, if not necessarily a free-man.
 
Last edited:
JBuk said:
O rly?
Click to expand...

Indeed, I must have missed that meeting.

It is about punishment, rehabilitation and protecting the public.

I accept Biggs isn't likely to pose a danger but the other two points have not been satisfied yet. He hasn't served his full term and he shows no remorse so is not rehabilitated.
 
dirtydog said:
Indeed, I must have missed that meeting.

It is about punishment, rehabilitation and protecting the public.

I accept Biggs isn't likely to pose a danger but the other two points have not been satisfied yet. He hasn't served his full term and he shows no remorse so is not rehabilitated.
Click to expand...

Perhaps I should have phrased that better: I meant that it's not about revenge. There is an element of punishment but that is part of the process of rehabilitation.
 
Nix said:
That's a completely fair point. What if his family were the ones to foot the medical bill though as opposed to the state?
Click to expand...

I still say send him back. If his family want to pay the bills they can do, but I still think Biggs should be detained somehow. A criminal who has shown no remorse should not be allowed back in to the public domain. Yes he is old, but he spent the best years of hig life sticking two fingers up at the country that is now tasked with looking after him. Either that or shove him outside the front door of The Sun's offices. They brought him back, they can deal with him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom