Monday’s correspondence includes readers’ opinions on lenient prison sentences, thoughts on the Lockerbie bomber’s release, and a reminder of one of Scotland’s more embarrassing episodes.
Lenient sentences have fuelled crime waveSir,-A man found guilty of driving offences which resulted in two policemen receiving cuts and scrapes was sent to jail for two years and nine months (August 26).
You reported the same day the case of a man whose landlady died of a brain haemorrhage after he slapped her so hard that she fell back and banged her head. He was jailed for two years and four months.
In the same edition, a lorry driver was given a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence for a rape committed in 1989 and a man found guilty of dealing in heroin got seven months.
Meanwhile, police announced that a woman caught dumping a cat in a wheelie bin had committed no offence, then a woman who urinated on a war memorial, performed a sex act in public and twice assaulted a policewoman, then failed to turn up for her trial was given a suspended sentence of 15 weeks.
Finally, the lid was lifted yet again on how lax our prisons have become when you reported that Tory justice spokesman John Lamont had asked for “drug-free wings” in prisons.
Have the UK’s elected representatives and their non-elected officials gone completely bonkers? Our prisons should be completely drug-free, with no need for drug-free wings.
As for the above list of court and police decisions, the inconsistency is obvious and the decisions and sentences, in some, cases wildly over-lenient
It is no wonder that society is growing more dangerous and drug addiction becoming more of a menace when we have idealistic airheads in charge. Offenders respect only one thing-a resolute and firm authority.
George K. McMillan.5 Mount Tabor Avenue,Perth.
Green boom needs construction skillsSir,-I read with great interest the report by Scottish Renewables, highlighting the huge potential for job creation in the offshore wind industry over the next decade.
Availability of skills and capacity in the construction industry will be one critical factor in determining whether the 48,000 new jobs and £7.1 billion of economic investment by 2020 can be achieved.
Since March 2008, Scottish construction has seen 53,000 jobs lost. By the middle of the decade, construction skills and capacity are likely to be in strong demand to enable delivery of the infrastructure needed for new low-carbon industries to take off.
At the same time, with the level of construction capacity badly affected by the recession, there is a risk of demand outstripping supply, causing prices to spike and making Scotland a less attractive location.
Michael Levack.Scottish Building Federation,4 Crichton’s Close,Edinburgh.Renewables a new Darien?Sir,-Your reports and editorial (August 25) suggest a wonderful industrial and economic prospect for our nation, based on wind power generated electricity.
Before we invest more money in vast quantities to fund these unproven prospects, surely we must invest in expert, objective, engineering and economic analysis of the potential of renewables in terms of efficacy of power output and value compared with other means of generation, such as coal and nuclear.
Otherwise, we risk a new Darien scheme, like the false 18th-century money-spinner which bankrupted Scotland, leading to the Act of Union.
Our Scottish Nationalists would not want a re-run of that situation, would they?
(Dr) Charles Wardrop.111 Viewlands Road West,Perth.End this cash cultureSir,-An excellent tongue-in-cheek letter from Neil Sinclair, who says gypsy travellers should be treated as taxpayers (August 25).
Wouldn’t it be nice if they paid more in taxes than they received in benefits. Many of their tarring jobs are undertaken for cash, so no tax there then.
It has always amazed me that some travellers can afford expensive cars and caravans.
I would have thought that HM Revenue and Customs should be sending them a self-assessment form to determine their tax position.
Clark Cross.138 Springfield Road,Linlithgow.
Megrahi questions still outstandingSir,-George K. McMillan (August 27) says with regard to Jim Crumley’s personal view of the release of Megrahi that there is a third standpoint, namely that MacAskill acted hurriedly.
I am more convinced of the reasoning of Tam Dalyell and Dr Jim Swire who both believe MacAskill’s decision was not entirely compassionate but was corrupted by self-interest in that he is supporting an inexplicable verdict to protect judges and prosecutors from criticism.
Likewise, Megrahi’s inexplicable decision to abandon the SCCRC appeal may have been the result of a nod and a wink from those dealing with his compassionate release, and, if so, would have been welcomed by those in our justice establishment.
If Megrahi had died waiting for his appeal to be heard, there would have been an international outcry that the Crown Office had procrastinated for years while this appellant’s health faded.
And if Megrahi survived long enough to attend his appeal, the prospect of Tony Gauci and his brother being called to explain the millions of dollars gifted to them by the US Government would have been a disaster for Scotland’s reputation for independent justice.
So many political factors have dictated events in the Megrahi saga but for those who believe that Kenny MacAskill acted purely on compassionate grounds, I would ask them to listen again to his monotone 20-minute statement to the Scottish Parliament.
Invoking the Almighty was pure political theatre pitched at the born-again in the Bible belt rather than the central belt.
Tom Minogue.94 Victoria Terrace,Dunfermline.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.