Unjust punishment
Chris Langham is being bullied in jail: unsurprising in a system where intimidation dominates and the vulnerable suffer.
By Erwin James in Comment is free in the Guardian.
Prison bullies are making Langham's life hell, says wife from This is London.
I wonder what Christine Cartwright, the wife of jailed Chris Langham, thought about paedophiles and how they are treated in prison, and how she thought they should be treated, before this was all brought home to her? There is a argument that Chris Langham is not a paedophile. That is, that he did not actually physically sexually abuse a child. He got sexual pleasure by downloading child pornography from the internet.
I was actually physically sexually abused as a child. And yet, when I ended up in prison I saw how the sex offenders were treated and I did not agree with it and did not join in and sympathised with their predicament. What Christine Cartwright describes as hell is mild compared to what I have seen in the past. However, as Erwin James observes: "Regardless of the level of dreadfulness of his actions however, any abuse that Chris Langham experiences in prison from fellow prisoners or from staff (according to his wife Langham was told to "shut up" after wishing a prison officer a "good morning"), is in fact a great deal more than he deserves".
Erwin James states that he is unsurprised because Langham is in a system where intimidation dominates and the vulnerable suffer. But, isn't that the same by and large in the world outside of prison?
In any event, the article is worth reading and so are many of the comments which follow it.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
Bullying is vile, evil and nasty
ReplyDeleteI agree totally "bullying is vile, evil and nasty" but so is tying your own 8 year old child to the celing, bound and gagged and violently sexually assaulting her...this is what Langham got pleasure from watching.
ReplyDeleteI do not condone bullying in any shape or form but sadly some people cannot control the repugnance they feel towards those you enjoy watching child torture.
Liz James
I was a very high profile sex offender (allbeit an innocent one) and I never had any problems in my time inside - at Belmarsh, Maidstone and even Langham's jail, Elmley (lousy canteen; but the fruit and veg supplier is good).
ReplyDeleteI think Vulnerable People are always in danger of being bullied inside - as they are out here in the big wide world.
I am not vulnerable. I survived boarding school. Anyone who lived through that can survive anything. I loved being in prison. I met fascinating human beings. I was able to help the illiterate and the bullied and the abused. If someone was having a hard time, I interceded on their behalf and usually stopped the problem (by being as sympathetic to the bully as I was to the victim).
I'll bet you Langham is being treated no worse in prison than anyone else. I'll bet he (and we) are the victims of bullying by the media (which makes up stories about inmates, knowing we cannot fight back). I'll bet no prison officer (in the main decent human beings) refused to say Good Morning.
I don't trust the media. I don't trust the police. I don't trust the judicial system.
I do trust human nature. It's better than it gets credit for.
Stop protesting your innocence Jonathan, accept your guilt and move on.
ReplyDeleteThank you zinzin; I must admit protesting you're innocent when you are can be a thoroughly wasteful pursuit. Perhaps I should take your advice and admit anything; then move on. Very sensible. PS I killed Rasputin.
ReplyDeleteKing, I am sick of your protestations of innocence as they come not from an injustice, but a need for attention.
ReplyDeleteZINZIN - good for you - keep taking the tabloids!
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to read someone with an open mind who knows more than those directly involved.
I'd love to criticise you but, like most commentators, you prefer to remain anonymous and hide your vices and sins behind the mask of righteous indignation.
A truly courageous poster.