U.K. men get 4-year sentences for Facebook riot posts

Re:U.K. men get 4-year sentences for Facebook riot posts by abstractbill on Wednesday August 17, 2011 @05:30PM (#2897031)

Harsh sentences like these will only serve to convince a large segment of the population that the system is unjust (and perhaps even that the riots were therefore a "good thing" (fight the system, etc, etc)).

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Re:U.K. men get 4-year sentences for Facebook riot posts by PhilRae on Wednesday August 17, 2011 @05:56PM (#2897117)

These people weren't fighting any 'system' or for any cause. They plainly saw an opportunity to steal, vandalise and ruin the lives of many hard-working, law-abiding citizens, under the so called 'protection' of the mob.

Hopefully this hard justice will serve as a warning that this simply will not be tolerated in our civil society. If anything, it actually emphasises how lenient the court system normally is, and I firmly believe that sentencing should always be this strict.

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Re:U.K. men get 4-year sentences for Facebook riot posts by Daniel_Newby on Wednesday August 17, 2011 @06:15PM (#2897184)

Hopefully this hard justice will serve as a warning that this simply will not be tolerated in our civil society.

That warning is better served by preceding a potential riot with a few decades of prompt, strict, and small punishments for failures of civility. A person who knows that there will be consequences does not participate in a riot. Or at least it would be a polite English riot with the mob leaders passing out cucumber sandwiches.

... I firmly believe that sentencing should always be this strict.

Alas, punishing an impromptu mob for the arson of its most destructive member does not un-burn-down a buildingful of shops, and the thrill of seeing the mob railroaded might even encourage a career-criminal arsonist who knew to take precautions against being identified.

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