I think laws are too loose in general. I think if a VIOLENT crime is committed, be it harming/molesting/murdering an adult, child, animal, whatever, that person should be imprisonned accordingly.
Jails should be a little less like hotels, and jail sentences should be a little less like paid vacations and more like the prisons we see in movies like the Shawshank Redemption (short of abusing the prisonners themselves, of course).
However, one must acknowledge the fact that that isn't always possible. You can't infringe on someones written freedom because they have molested a child, which in the eyes of the law isn't all that bad. You definitely can't imprison them for life. And even if you could, there are so many variables a lawyer could play on to reduce the sentence. Rehabilitation is the obvious answer - turn criminals into productive members of society! But is that possible in most cases (one would think so - new systems of rehabilitation need to be worked on)? If it isn't, we can't possibly keep 250 rapists per 3kms in jails forever. There is hardly enough room as it is
. The target should be schools and the homes of children. We should try and stop the problem before it arrises, because it's obviously far easier to prevent a rape than to try and rehabilitate a rapist.
Anyway, I did sign the petition, but online petitions aren't official and I doubt Holly's Law will be in place any time soon soon. Hopefully, though, her relatives can find solace in the huge volume of signatures, and that this petition will make way for severed laws.
Zoe
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