Do the crimes, do the times

Tegan Wagner, who spoke out recently after the appeal by the men who raped her was rejected, has raised a valid point again, concerning their sentences. This comes as the DPP has initiated appeals against the leniency of their sentences.

She said the sentences were unfair and did not acknowledge individual victims.

“It’s like when you buy in bulk, you get it cheaper - like if you buy soap powder in bulk. So, rape in bulk and get the discount on your sentence, too. It’s crazy. You should acknowledge individuals,”

“What kind of message is that sending out to young males? They’re going to be, looking at that and say, `well, we can rape three and get the same sentence … and people are stupid enough to think like that,”’

Good point! Why should criminals not get the full sentence they deserve for each individual crime? If one rape is worth 14 years, why shouldn’t 2 be 28 years, 3 42 years etc? The criminals should have thought of the consequences before they did the crime. Maybe we’ll get some of the ludicrous sounding sentences we hear from overseas, like 700 years, or even thousands of years (what happens when they die, do their bones stay in their cell?). Dish out the full sentence the crimes deserve, and if it runs past death, good riddance to them from decent society. Why do we have concurrent sentences …. they just strike me as total bullshit? Commit 50 crimes, pay for 50. Committing a crime is a voluntary, discretionary choice of the person who commits it, and those choosing to commit them should do so in the full knowledge of the consequences to themselves. Oh, he/she had a tough upbringing, dear me, he/she was under the influence of drugs - too bad, stiff shit.

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