This won't come as a shock to many people, but the Criminal Justice System in England has officially gone mad. It has lost its senses. Its logic has ceased to be.
A juror has today lost her appeal against a 56 day jail term for contempt of court. She had served for three weeks of a robbery trial but then went on holiday for two weeks, telling Court officials that she had back pain. The full story can be found here.
Now I'm not condoning her actions in the slightest. Jury service must be taken seriously, as it's a cornerstone of our justice system. That said, how can it possibly be right that this person gets a 56-day jail term, something that you wouldn't get for assault, shoplifting, or fighting drunkenly in the street?
Similarly reprehensibly was Liam Stacey's racist and offensive tweets about Fabrice Muamba. Offensive, crass, stupid - yes. Fifty six days in jail though? Really?
What sort of "normal" crime would you have to commit to get 56 days in jail? Has the CJS never heard of "proportionality"?
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