Category Archives: Justice
Grass Roots of Change: Edlington tragedy highlights the need for improvements and reflections. Again.
If we can learn something from the case of the 10 and 11 year old brothers who this week stood trial for torturing two young boys in Edlington, Doncaster, it’s that criminal behaviour must be tackled far earlier than in a … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Justice
Good Morning Brixton: Prison Radio Station Nominated for Sony Awards
Amidst the disappointment of funding cuts to various well-established arts programmes within the prison system, here’s something positive: Electric radio, a prison radio station based at HMP Brixton, has been nominated for four Sony Radio Academy awards. These include a nomination in the … Continue reading
The Truth About Lie Detectors, Or Not…
If it’s good enough for Jeremy Kyle, then it’s good enough for the Met and the Ministry. At least that’s what Jack Straw must have been thinking when he approved plans for sex offenders to take lie detectors as part … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Justice
The Sound of Music: Music was torture in Guantanamo, says Binyam Mohamed
Binyam Mohammed said there was something worse in Guantanamo Bay than daily beatings and having his genitals slashed with razor blades. The torture methods he was talking about weren’t violent, but, he said, were far more disturbing and soul-destroying. He … Continue reading
Filed under Human Rights, Justice
Restorative Justice bites back: the IRA Brighton bomber and the Woolf within
Last year I went to a talk on Restorative Justice at the Soho theatre. I’ve been thinking about it again as I’ve just found out two little areas of Norfolk, where I go often, are now ‘increasingly using Restorative Justice … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Documentary, Justice
Baby P, Baby D and Baby B: Do the ‘governor’s eyebrows’ hold the key?
In the wake of Haringey’s Baby P scandal, social workers were heavily criticised en mass and those directly involved with the child’s case were vilified. Nobody could understand why action wasn’t taken, especially when another baby, named in the press … Continue reading
I Smell A Rat: Why Violent Video Games Didn’t Cause Columbine or Albertville shootings
Following the Columbine massacre, much was made in the press of the fact that Eric Harris, one of the teenage gunmen, was an avid fan of a violent computer game, Doom. Out came the hockey moms united, with their pickets, … Continue reading
Filed under Justice
Charles Bronson on Film
So Charles Bronson is Britain’s most notorious prisoner eh? So says the film that’s just been made about his life. I know who he is. But then I’ve always been interested in crime and its characters. When I’ve mentioned him to other … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Film, Human Rights, Journalism, Justice
German High School Shooting a Month Before Columbine 10 Year Anniversary: 3 Teenage Gunman, 30 People Dead, O Lessons Learnt
A teenage gunman has opened fire in Germany, just over a month before the 10 year anniversary of the Columbine massacre. On April 20 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into the cafeteria of Columbine High School, Colorado armed … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Justice
The Madness of Michael Shields: Innocent Liverpool fan still in prison?
As Liverpool prepare to take on Real Madrid at Anfield there is one loyal fan who won’t be in the kop tonight: Michael Shields. Michael’s name, for Liverpool fans and residents at least, is now synonomous with an extraordinary miscarriage … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Human Rights, Justice
