Huntley and comeuppance

ViceVersa

I think it's perfectly possible to accept that justice is for the courts to mete out, and that there are considerable failings in the prison system as it stands, while at the same time not having an ounce of sympathy for the likes of Huntley or Watkins.

Yes I agree it is perfectly possible but there’s a difference between not having an ounce of sympathy and revelling isn’t there? I’m not sympathetic at all but I’m not glad it happened - that’s shocking.

He is a vile man and his crimes are heinous.

But

I belive in the law and I believe to take the law into your hands
Is counterproductive and dangerous.

The slippery slope to the breakdown of a civilised society which would suit the vile and dangerous people in our society.

I don't have any sympathy for Huntley but I certainly don't want him or any other offenders being attacked and injured in prison. What sort of world do some of you want to live in? We have laws, courts and at least some sort of justice system, it seems some would prefer a system which condones violence to others. I most certainly don't. People do really bad things but it seems in some people's eyes, if you do "really bad things" to some people, it's acceptable. No, it's not.

foxie48 👍🏻

It is a general discussion forum but you seem intent on highlighting posters’ comments which you don’t agree with,
thereby making it personal.
If you don’t mean to, don’t do that.
We know our prisons are overcrowded and under-staffed.

rafichagran

It pains me to say it but on balance I agree with Monica.
When I first heard my reaction was, who cares good. However I thought about it and wanting people hurt, even vile murderers like Huntley, makes me no better than the knitters at the guillotine in the Frech revolution.

Exactly this. I admit my first reaction was , Good, no more than he deserved.
Immediately followed by Oh gosh , what does that make me.

I am with others who can't condone this attack. Huntley is an evil man and is being punished for what he has done.
I know we feel revulsion for him but feeling joy because he was violently attacked goes against civilised society.

TillyTrotter

It is a general discussion forum but you seem intent on highlighting posters’ comments which you don’t agree with,
thereby making it personal.
If you don’t mean to, don’t do that.
We know our prisons are overcrowded and under-staffed.

Well of course I respond to comments I don’t agree with - I also say when I agree. I rather think it’s you that’s getting personal.

Tuliptree

ViceVersa

I think it's perfectly possible to accept that justice is for the courts to mete out, and that there are considerable failings in the prison system as it stands, while at the same time not having an ounce of sympathy for the likes of Huntley or Watkins.

Yes I agree it is perfectly possible but there’s a difference between not having an ounce of sympathy and revelling isn’t there? I’m not sympathetic at all but I’m not glad it happened - that’s shocking.

I understand that. However, if my child or grandchild had been a victim of someone like Huntley or Watkins, then I suspect I'd want to wreak every vengeance under the sun on them. I'm not saying that's right or moral - but I think it's how I'd feel. I hope I never have to find out.

Nobody in their right mind would " sympathise " with this man.

However, neither would they take pleasure in the violence meted out to him.

I agree VV - but the person attacking him and the posters revelling in it are not, so far as we know, related to the children. I know one poster lived in the area at the time and of course it’s understandable they would feel more strongly. And of course it’s because if you’re personally connected we have a CJS which takes the process of trying and punishment out of your hands. The rule of law is truly what marks a fundamentally good society and we should cherish it - and all the more so when the wrongdoer is particularly heinous

Yes, I completely accept that. I spent most of my professional life sitting through court cases, so I'm very familiar with the workings of our justice system.

Rosie51

I thought deprivation of liberty was the purpose of prison punishment? I can't celebrate other convicts deciding on lynch mob mentality to inflict injury on another convict. You really think convicts should be 'punishing' other convicts? Do you have a baseline on who may decide what punishment on which other convict?

Out of those that TulipTree mentioned I especially think of Stefan Kiszko.

evidencebasedjustice.exeter.ac.uk/case/stefan-kiszko/

He was wrongly convicted of raping and murdering an 11 year old. What if these thugs had 'seriously injured' him. You'd be cheering that on? He lived for only one year after his eventual release and the four girls who had lied and said he exposed himself the previous day 'for a laugh' walked away scot free. I hope they had the grace to develop a conscience for the impact they contributed to on an innocent man. This is not whataboutery. We know Huntley is certainly guilty, but if you condone lynch mob mentality then what if Kiszko had suffered the same punishment?

The Stefan Kiszko case was different because, at that time, the evidence which could have cleared him was not made available to his defence team. The law has been changed since then.

The evidence against Huntley was overwhelming and his conviction is sound.

However, that does not mean he should be attacked in prison. There seem to be failings at HMP Frankland. Three prison officers were badly injured there last year.

I hope he recovers and spends the rest of his life in misery, perhaps incarcerated in solitary for his own safety.

Yes, my first feelings were pangs of well he got what's coming, but it cant be condoned, mob justice can target the wrong people, and if we condone it inside prisons then it could (and has start taking place outside prisons to people accused but not found guilty or even just attacked n rumours.

We just can't go there imo.

here is an example from last year - a mob of 300 was collected on social media and hounded a man and his partner from their house, and there were no grounds at all, and the organiser went to court

www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/25700995.innocent-man-driven-dumbarton-home-sex-offender-allegations/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawQNibpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBRRlJaamg3azk1VEZHWjdHc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHurj_faqWOEzZB1s2K0c0RzE8olxozZ1V0puvygkgB_09yMkKPxYJZ93Msmi_aem_FvaDYktmoCAWKXzg3cn2mQ#Echobox=1765975293

It is difficult. I don't want to get pleasure from someone being injured, but it's hard not to when it's someone like him.

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Huntley's crimes against those two little girls was unspeakably vile. He was tried, sentenced and is serving his sentence. I take no pleasure in hearing he has been attacked yet again by other criminals. His was a crime against humanity snd everything that was happy, true, innocent and good. Gloating over a lynching doesn't reflect favourably on anyone. We're all better than that aren't we?

I agree Franski, I agreed with Monica, but only after I though good could not care less. This is why we have laws. It stops emotions like mine taking over. The law makes a desition on Huntley with proof and facts, not us the public who understandably would bring emotion into this.

Also we should not be advocating trash taking out trash. I have a young grandaughter and if anything happened to her I would want revenge, this is wrong and that's why the legal system passes the sentance.

Whilst saying the above I do believe he is a wicked man.

Comeuppance 👍

It's just that we can react both emotionally and also morally to the same event.
Think that's what could be happening on this Thread.

Repugnant as his crime was, I don't rejoice in lynch mob mentality. The assailant is also appalling triple killer allegedly. When the prisoners gain control as they have done at times in Latin America, what follows is a murderous blood letting rampage.

Yes, I would like to add my voice to those who say that we do not need a lynch mob, however heinous the crime.
As Franski says, we are better than that, individually, and as a nation, I hope.

It is my local prison, I know people who work there. It is a terrible thing to have happened, and I am just thinking of the people I know who work there.

Even hardened criminals hate child killers so I am surprised that this has taken so long. I have no sympathy for this monster.

Maremia

It's just that we can react both emotionally and also morally to the same event.
Think that's what could be happening on this Thread.

Exactly, on a very basic emotional level, you can think 'if he'd done that to any of my family, then I'd want him to suffer', but at the same time, deep down on a moral level, you know that the lynch mob mentality is wrong and that we need to let the justice system deal with these people.