The Student Room Group

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Reply 20
riffraff
but some do try and improve their situation- e.g. those who sell big issue magazines to try and raise money


Some do. Some don't. Some can't.

I'll keep my views about the Big Issue to myself.
Reply 21
Howard
I'll keep my views about the Big Issue to myself.
Na, let 'em out...
Reply 22
Amb1
Na, let 'em out...


Scam
Reply 23
Howard
Scam


why?
Howard
Scam


I wouldn't go that far, although they aren't worth the money they sell them for.
The quality of the articles is pretty poor.
Reply 25
Howard
Scam


Where I used to go to uni, we found out our local big issue seller had gym and snooker club membership (we saw him getting into both places), he also used to constantly chat up my friend and offer to buy her drinks. Something not quite right there methinks.
Reply 26
viviki
Where I used to go to uni, we found out our local big issue seller had gym and snooker club membership (we saw him getting into both places), he also used to constantly chat up my friend and offer to buy her drinks. Something not quite right there methinks.


That's what I'm driving at. Some Big Issue vendors are about as homeless as I am.
Reply 27
Also it is alledged that some big issue sellers are simply getting funds to fuel their drug addictions.
Howard
That's what I'm driving at. Some Big Issue vendors are about as homeless as I am.


And, just for clarity, how homeless is that?
Reply 29
Iluvatar
And, just for clarity, how homeless is that?


Not very.
muncrun
Plea bargaining. The most pretentious scheme the criminal justice system has ever conceived. The scheme was developed to distinguish the remorseful criminal within the system. Generally, the earlier the confession is made in the criminal process, the greater the sentence discount. Great idea in theory, but now it has been jumped upon by every Tom, Dick and Harry, who see it as merely an opportunity to ease the severity of their punishment, whether or not they really give a damn that their actions were wrong. To illustrate: if you knew you'd be found guilty on an offence (or if this was made clear to you), would not the next logical step be to plead guilty so that your sentence is lighter?

The second problem arises where a defendant is factually innocent, but the likelihood of a conviction is high (or at least the perception is that this will be so). Measures such as plea bargaining operate as extreme pressure in 'coercing' a factually innocent defendant to plead guilty.

Plea bargaining does nothing more than remove purity and principle from the criminal justice system in order to appease the practicalities (or to rephrase, the practical constraints) of the system.


This happened in hollyoaks....it must be really horrible if you are charged with something that you didn't do, and then you are found guilty when you didn't do it- there would be nothing you could do :eek:
Reply 31
ruthiepoothie
This happened in hollyoaks....it must be really horrible if you are charged with something that you didn't do, and then you are found guilty when you didn't do it- there would be nothing you could do :eek:


you could appeal
Reply 32
Iluvatar
Pleading guilty shows that you accept that you have done something wrong, and the punishment should be as much about reform as punishing, so those who understand they behaved wrongly are already ahead on the road to reforming, so a lighter sentence is appropriate.


With respect, Iluvatar, I don't think you fully grasped my point.

First, and most significantly, the majority of criminals that plead guilty do so as a means to an end (ie. reducing their punishment), rather than an end in itself (ie. accepting that their wrongdoing was bad). These alleged values of understanding and coming to terms with their wrong-doings exist in theory but in practice guilty pleas are mostly employed by defendants to reduce their punishment. A lack of, or reduction in, punishment does not in itself contribute to rehabilitation.

Secondly, I am unable to fully accept your statement that criminals who plead guilty are on the road to 'reform' (I prefer to call it rehabilitation). It is well known within criminological circles that such pressure can force a factually innocent defendant to plead guilty. Your statement cannot be reconciled with this fact. Where it seems to the defendant that a conviction is inevitable, he may well cut to the chase and plead guilty for, amongst other things, a lighter sentence. How can a factually innocent defendant be rehabilitated by admitting his guilt, when in actual fact he was never really guilty and in no need of rehabilitation?!!

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