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.
The problem is the OK certificate is not worth the paper it is written on! The OK certificates are sold by a fraudster called Mark Leech, the so-called Director of the non-existent Institute of Prison Law.
"GUNN FIGHT AT THE OK LOGO CORRAL
I am normally too busy working as a Prison Lawyer to take the time to write in response to articles with which I disagree but I cannot allow the criticism of Mark Leech, The Prisons Handbook, Converse and the Institute of Prison Law in Inside Time to go unchallenged.
Why does Ben Gunn feel the need to criticise? He himself is complaining about criticism of another, namely Flo Krause. Ben Gunn states that Mark’s criticism of Flo Krause makes him look petty and spiteful - What exactly does Ben Gunn think his criticism of Mark Leech makes him look?
I was made aware of this defamatory article when I received an unsolicited copy of the June issue of Inside Time through the post accompanied by a leaflet containing details of advertising rates. Surely Inside Time does not expect me to advertise in their publication after endorsing a slur on my qualification?
As a Prison Lawyer myself, and one who proudly holds the Certificate of Competency, I know that the best form of advertising comes from personal recommendation. No one who is any good at their job need be concerned by competition.
The Prisons Handbook is a reference book. Not all the articles will be to everyone’s taste but it is undeniably a valuable resource and the information contained within it makes it is a vital tool in empowering prisoners by setting out so many of the rules and regulations which impact on their daily life.
We are all entitled to make a living, and be a success if we work hard. John Bowers the Editor for Inside Time is himself an ex con whose web profile states that he served 15 years in prison before his release in 1991 and his change of career to become part of the Editing Team in 1995. I would urge Ben Gunn to use his time forwarding the plight of prisoners and not denigrating those who have actually done that already.
Sally Smith, Aylesbury" (Source: Printed in a gutter press rag, in which the so-called editor, Mark Leech, plagiarises from the MSM and without permission and gives no credit to the authors or publication).
Yesterday my feelings were hurt, I felt as though I had been stabbed in the back, and I am still sore about it now. Free Ben's Blog from being silenced, having campaigned for Ben Gunn's right to freedom of expression, and having succeeded, the blow struck was below the belt when I discovered that a comment I had left on Ben's Prison Blog was censored by being deleted. I had gone back to see if anybody had responded to my comment. The only response was the denial of my freedom of expression.
My comment was in response to one left by wigarse, and as he/she had attacked my first comment it was a write to reply. However, it was decided that I had no right to reply by the deleter of my comment. It was not abusive or insulting, and this is why it hurt most of all. I must have touched a raw nerve.
My first comment was close to the bone, and either it was missed initially, or because there had already been responses and it would be obvious if it suddenly got deleted, it remains for the world to see. It is a pity that the Google screengrab only registered the 19th and 21st, and the comment was posted on the 20th, so the Google cache does not contain the comment so it cannot be retrieved. More's the pity because I would have reposted it, and added an explanation what had happened to it the first time around.
There is something disingenuous about posting a headline entitled "My crime", and saying this:
"One of the criticisms I have of many prison writers is that they avoid any mention of their crime.
One day they are bumbling along through normal existence, the next they are sentenced to life. A few decades pass and a book deal later, and we can still be no wiser as to what they did.
It may be harsh, but I've viewed this as a mixture of cowardice and deceit. Parading oneself out in public and becoming accepted, whilst keeping the crime secret, always makes me uncomfortable, although I do realise that it may be sensible. This is not to say that these prison writers do not make a very valuable contribution to public debate".
He is not speaking about me, but I think I know who he is referring to. In any event, to view others as being cowards and deceitful when Ben himself has so far avoided going into the detail of his crime is rank hypocrisy. Ben says he killed his friend when he was 14, and that's it. Sorry, did I miss something? The devil is in the detail. If I was on the Parole Board and he faced me, and all of this is missing from him, how could I honestly make a risk assessment low enough to recommend his release on the general public? I have sympathy for him, but without addressing his offending behaviour sympathy is not enough.
With me I was honest and thought about if I could not convince myself how can I expect to convince others I was a minimum risk for release? I know a case of a man who set fire to a farmer's barn, was sentenced to life imprisonment, after 20 years he was released by the Parole Board, and once again set fire to the same farmer's barn! And, another lifer convicted of murder who got me removed from an outside work party, at a resettlement prison, and when he was released he committed another murder!
I have refrained from joining Ben's Facebook campaign to be released. I asked myself do I know he is safe? I had to be honest and say no I didn't. So, I couldn't sign on the dotted line. I might have been signing someone's death warrant.
The deletion of a comment does not mean that Ben is not safe enough for release. That is a matter for the Parole Board to decide in its own way. But, the missing piece of the jig-saw puzzle fails to complete the picture shown on the box. And for me, "Assassination is the extreme form of censorship" (George Bernard Shaw). Or, censorship kills words.
Indian inmates take yoga classes to reduce jail time
Yoga, the Indian art of exercise and meditation, can strengthen muscles, improve concentration and increase a sense of spiritual well-being, its practitioners claim. Now it can also get you out of jail.
Mother jailed for life after giving son lethal heroin injection
Frances Inglis, who gave her brain-damaged son a lethal heroin injection to end his "living hell" was given a life sentence after being found guilty of murder today.
Some juries have refused to convict in similar mercy killings or returned verdicts of manslaughter instead. Unfortunately, the report does not state what tariff she must serve within the life sentence. Perhaps, it is to be set at a later date? If this is the case, I hope the judge sets the tariff as low as 2 years as an act of mercy.
I have no evidence to support my belief. However this does not mean to say that it is some wild belief, for example, like Kate and Gerry McCann claiming that Madeleine was abducted. Having examined the case I have concluded that on the balance of probabilities that an explanation other than abduction is the reason why Madeleine has disappeared.
We start from nothing.
Kate McCann returns to Apartment 5A from the Tapas Bar, and states she just knows that Madeleine has been abducted to explain her disappearance. There is no "I wonder where she is?", or "I wonder what could have happened to her?". Instead of uncertainty, we have somebody who was neither in hearing or seeing distance claiming to know with certainty exactly what has happened to Madeleine. Unless Kate McCann is claiming to be psychic, it does not add up if one is applying logic to the situation. This means that Kate McCann's statement is illogical.
Whilst I cannot claim to know what happened to Madeleine, I do know with certainty that the McCann explanation lacks truthfulness. Accepting that I was neither in seeing nor hearing distance of Apartment 5A on 3 May 2007, I don't know what happened to Madeleine. However some internet detective work, and going through the case like a pathologist conducting a post mortem, and adding some lawyerly skills I claim that it is possible to knock down the McCann theory of abduction as an explanation for Madeleine's disappearance.
The Civile Penitenitary of Port-au-Prince is in ruins
"The Haitian Prison Authority has been grievously hurt by the earthquake on January 23, 2010. The Civile Penitenitary of Port-au-Prince sustained significant damage resulting in several deaths, exact numbers still unknown. The facility was housing 4,367 prisoners. All surviving prisoners fled. A few staff remain unaccounted for. The Ministry of Justice was destroyed. Commissioner Jean Celestin, Director of Haitian Prison Authority and ICPA member, survived. The United Nations peace keeping operation, MINUSTAH, suffered collapse of the headquarters and multiple deaths including Mission Chief Hedi Annabi and his deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa. All corrections unit advisors are safe.
The non-governmental agency, Health through Walls, has been working in with the Haitian Prison Authority since 2001 to support efforts of health and santitation. Health through Walls, a registered 501c3 organization in the USA, is accepting donations to be used to meet the needs of the Haitian Prison Authority".
(Source: Ed Wozniak - International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA))
My God! What an ugly looking cow!
