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arrest and convict them of burglary and provide a suitable punishment, perhaps a years worth of community service or worse if they're a repeat offender
Would you be content with ANY punishment the courts were to give him ?
As I've said many times already the present provisions and laws are perfectly fine.
Couldn't be simpler. Really.
The Law is a joke, giving them a slap on the hand, or a fine that is not even close to what they stole and what they wont even pay
yeah, and how many of them spend less then a year inside and come out to do it all over again
You are seeker and I claim my reward...
On a side note, users should also remember that it's important to contribute to debates with their own views, not simply ask questions of other users, and that wider debates on issues such as 'what are courts' or 'the government are murderers' should have their own thread, not be used to derail discussions about particular issues.
So we should kill them yeah?
what about locking repeat offenders away for life?
What about it.
That is the way society works and has since we started to evolved into a civilisation and away from barbarism.
You gonna pay more taxes towards that?
I hate taxes, but onje thing id be willing to pay for is more prisons and better sentences
Out of curisoity (not wanting to argue or anything like that) what would you do if the guy hit his head as you tackled him and died. How would you feel to having murder charges pressed against you.....?
How about dealing with the issues that lead to crime? Wouldn't that be better?
That would be manslaughter, surely?
Depends who you're dealing with. If it's a drug user who needs the money for their habit, then yes try and treat them (although they still need to be punished for breaking the law in the first place).
However that still doesn't solve the problem of people who steal simply because they want more and don't want to pay for it. I can think of at least 5 on my area off the top of my head who are our most prolific theives but don't have a drug problem.
You'd have to prove it was an accident first and not "punishment".
Ha, manslaughter for rugby tackling a thief in order to protect whats rightfully yours and thus him accidentally hitting his head. Completely and utterly fair that is!
how the hell could you do that though? Its your story against a dead persons smashed skull.
See the problem?
The hypothetical case above is disturbing. But the fact remains it does not happen. The only homeowners who get charged and prosecuted are those who have quite deliberately set to harm or kill the burglar.
The law is perfect as it is and no changed is required whatsoever.
So would anyone else, and as Aladdin says this is an extreme hypothetical case, but one that could still happen. It would be up to the CPS to prove murder, but at the same time you'd have to prove you didn't set out to murder him in revenge which is what the CPS could argue.
I'd say it would be very doubtful they would go for a murder charge because they know the jury would side with the homeowner. They might try for a manslaughter charge, but even then they would know the jury wouldnt convict easily.
The flexibility of 'reasonable force' works very well because it allows for different situations.
And a jury is likely to be full of people who at least side with the householder if not are totally against the burglar.