British common law under attack. (Insider Report).
The recent upsurge in violent crime suffered by citizens of Great Britain illustrates that suppressing the right to armed self-defense gives criminals a competitive advantage over the law-abiding population. But just as importantly, it illustrates how denying the right to keep and bear arms acts as a precursor to abolition of other key protections of individual liberty. As the July 19th Sydney Morning Herald reported, "An explosion in violent crime ... has put the ruling [socialist] Labour Party under pressure to take tough measures to get criminals off the streets." The proposed measures invade, or nullify outright, rights and guarantees cherished for centuries under British common law.On July 17th, British Home Secretary David Blunkett, whose office roughly corresponds to that of U.S. attorney general, "unveiled a complete overhaul of the criminal justice system ... dramatically shifting the balance in court away from defendants in favor of prosecutors and victims," reported the July 19th London Independent. Blunkett's White Paper, entitled "Justice For All," proposes to abolish "the 800-year-old laws governing 'double jeopardy' for serious offenses that prevent a person from being tried twice." It also seeks to "recast principles enshrined in the Magna Carta by ending many defendants' right to be tried by jury," allow prosecutors to use "'hearsay' evidence from witnesses who could not attend court," and undermine the habeas corpus principle by allowing the imposition of" 'indeterminate sentences' for offenders who were seen to be a continuing danger to society. Police [are] also given powers to impose curfews and other bail conditions on suspects for whom they had insufficient evidence to charge."
"For innocent people, even once acquitted, their ordeal won't be over," protested John Wadham, director of Liberty, a British individual rights lobby. "Police and prosecutors, knowing they can have a 'second bash,' won't have to tackle real problems of incompetent investigation in the first place." None of the proposed measures "will reduce crime levels," opined Wadham. "They're about government ministers being seen to talk tough." More to the point, those measures are about government doing what it always does: Devouring the liberties of its subjects on any pretext.
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| Publication: | The New American |
|---|---|
| Article Type: | Brief Article |
| Geographic Code: | 4EUUK |
| Date: | Aug 12, 2002 |
| Words: | 351 |
| Previous Article: | The garrison state: a case study. (Insider Report). |
| Next Article: | Police State vs. Posse Comitatus. (Insider Report). |
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