Rolf Harris

I agree that most people are a mixture of good and bad. Where I think RH has lost any trace of sympathy from most people is in the fact that once confronted with what he had done he continually denied it, called the women fantasists and made them go through the ordeal of giving evidence at his trial.

I do feel sorry for his family and hope they will be left to get on with the rest of their lives as best they can without any intrusion from the press

Yes, jingl, West and Brady are two who would spring to mind. Not RH.
However, some would disagree and find some redeeming feature about West, but I am racking my brains to think of one.

No! Never! Or Hindley.

Mail on-line www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2681286/PLATELLS-PEOPLE-My-old-friend-Rolf-groomed-too.html

It seems that the case is to be referred to the Attorney General on the grounds that the sentence is too lenient.; although it seems that the judge did the best he could within the rules that the sentence has to match those that were in law at the time of the offences, and there is also some rule about some of them having to be concurrent.

Rosequartz, it is indeed difficult to find some redeeming feature about West or Brady. That doesn't mean there isn't one though, even if it's simply that, despite our wishes that it were otherwise, they are still fellow human beings. It's understandable that we all want to distance ourselves from them and deny that we have anything in common with them, but... I do feel that there's an unhealthy desire in some quarters, particularly the press, to encourage demonising people and polarising opinion - not that anyone at all would approve of these people's crimes, but the press ramp up and feed the hatred to epic proportions at times and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. And they do it for one reason: because they grow rich on it - for no other reason. It sells papers. But they need to groom their public to do it. And they have the audacity to throw their collective hands up at RH's grooming whilst at the same time, doing it themselves.

I agree with you Rowantree few people ( other than those mentioned) are truly evil, and I dont think that RH is or was evil. What he did was wicked, and the denial and subsequent cross examination of some of the victims ( hate that word) was the worst aspect of it all. If he had pleaded guilty I would have felt a bit more sympathy for that would have indicated that he felt responsibility and possible shame for what he had done. I agree with everyone on here who hates the tabloid fuelled campaign of villification and bile. Do people really want him to be jailed until he rots or to have his bits cut off with a rusty knife all very emotive but not signs of a civilised society. He needs to be imprisoned, for punishment and protection ( his and potential victims), and then emphaisis paid on stopping this type of thing from being allowed to happen in the future.

Phoenix Yes, I posted about that !!

Oh don't let's get too holy about him. He's a bastard.

Yes Gill, I am afraid people do want to do unspeakable things to him and lock him up. I would be very happy to see offenders like him rot in prison for the rest of their lives.

Good post, Rowantree.

"it is indeed difficult to find some redeeming feature about West or Brady. That doesn't mean there isn't one though"

Total cobblers!!! There can be NO redeeming features about them.

Really !!!

DO YOU NOT REMEMBER WHAT THOSE BASTARDS DID?

Maybe they paid their bills on time? I agree they are/were horrible though. But I don't see how anyone can exclude Hindley from the list of evil people. She encouraged Brady to the hilt* and exulted in their recordings of the murders.

*Freudian slip? Not intentional.

Gill57, totally agree with you.

jinglbells I hear you, even when you aren't shouting ;) but they are being punished and the law must take its course. I just dislike the additional hate-hype. We don't need to be as uncivilised as those who perpetrated these crimes. Thank goodness for the rule of law - otherwise, it's pretty clear that we'd have public castrations, lynchings and the like. I'd prefer cobblers to that.

I haven't followed the RH story much and not at all through the Red Tops. Never thought he was much of an entertainer, not my cup of tea. My sympathy lies with the victims not RH. I don't think it's unreasonable for him to spend the rest of his life in prison. As for finding redeeming features in the others mentioned here you have got to be joking. There are none, none at all.

Well, he wasn't my cuppa either, tbh, but that's beside the point. And I have every sympathy with the victims. But I disagree completely with your last point.
I guess I'm out on a limb here. I'll see meself out....

You don't need to see yourself out at all Rowantree I have a different opinion to you that's all. Be very boring if we all agreed with each other.

Rowantree, it would be a boring life if we all agreed all of the time. Don't disappear!

Just to mention that West did not go to trial because he hanged himself beforehand.

"the additional hate-hype"

What else could anyone do but hate the likes of Hindley, Brady, and the Wests?!

RH obviously not in the same league.

I'm not saying that I sympathise with them. They all committed hideous crimes. But they aren't totally evil any more than anyone good is totally good. That doesn't mean I'd be happy to be in the same room as them, though.
jingl - you say 'RH obviously not in the same league' but many would disagree and consider him up (or down) there with the worst. He will be further demonised in the press. That's what I mean by 'additional hate-hype'. It's neither necessary nor in the public interest and it does more harm than good. But most of the press aren't concerned with that.

All of this hatred which manifests itself when something like the RH trial is going on is very depressing.

If you hate someone and want them to be tortured ad infinitum, that says something about you as well. The impulse is in there already, just waiting to be triggered off.

And all of this unpleasant stuff can be felt and expressed whilst still maintaining a sense of one's own righteousness because the target 'deserves it'.

There is a difference in degree between Harris's mostly opportunistic sexual attacks (repulsive as they are) and the ones that Brady and Hindley committed. They taped the whole thing for action replays later, including young people sobbing for their mothers as they were raped, tortured and killed. That was evil. It was premeditated and planned and ghoulishly relished in retrospect as well as at the time.