Sentencing Council to make changes for pregnant women / new mothers

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/news/item/sentencing-council-to-make-changes-to-manslaughter-guidelines-and-introduce-new-guidance-for-sentencing-pregnant-offenders/

I do not link to the BBC as it is not a credible or trustworthy organisation.

Sentencing Council has new guidelines to make pregnancy or new motherhood a mitigation in deciding criminal sentences.

Straight off the bat - here is a very simple scenario:

Woman commits serious crime.

Woman pleads guilty.

Woman is given date for sentencing.

Woman gets pregnant.

Mitigation is given at sentencing and no custodial sentence received,

Woman has abortion.

You'd be a fool not to.

Reply 1

Andrew97

Entertainment Forum Helper, Debate & Current Affairs Helper

Seems an extreme way to grt out of prison

Reply 2

Trinculo

Original post by Andrew97

Seems an extreme way to grt out of prison

I'd say its the opposite. Path of least resistance. Not so dissimilar to what Elizabeth Holmes tried.

Reply 3

Muttly

1) The Government has absolved itself of any responsibility to protect ordinary residents here in the UK. The Government now protects only itself. People who commit serious crime that should be imprisoned are not and are not removed from society for the protection of us all. Why? Because there are no prison places left against an ever increasing population who commit crime. The UK can't afford to pay for the prison infrastructure or the staff. It is a repetitious unproductive loss. Looking after babies and children in prison is hugely expensive.

2) The political pressure to keep people out of prison is related to 1) above so its councils and advisory committees are forced to find an imaginative solutions directed at all costs to reduce lengths of sentence or to avoid it. The judges must weep at their impotence to be able to sentence as they see fit.

3) There is no deterrent for anyone who commits crime - crime is rewarded now at every level. Women who live with serial criminals and have babies to escape prison will have good reason to produce even more feral children exposed to violence and abuse. A complete societal blueprint for lack of care. This will ensure more delinquent damaged children attend school. Those same children will be rewarded for failure whilst disrupting the education of those that want to learn.

This is nothing new. It's a cheap bright idea fix that in the longer term will create more pain and distress to everyone.