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Garry Newlove's head now being used as a political football

By John Hirst

Garry Newlove's head now being used as a political football

There is a question which has been nagging me ever since I read about Garry Newlove being kicked to death following his confronting a gang of youths who had kicked the door of his wife's car. And that is, given all the equality for women and all that, why didn't Helen Newlove go out and confront the youths after all it was her car? It could be that the youths would have felt less threatened by a woman's touch and melted away. There again, had she and her daughter gone out to assist her husband it could be that the extra numbers changed the outcome. I recall the daughter condemning the neighbours for curtain twitching instead of getting involved. There is the burying the heads in the sand element, however, perhaps the neighbours should have assisted because had the youths been wary of that possibility then it is likely they would not have caused trouble in the first place.

In any event, I fail to see what good can come of Helen Newlove appearing "at a Conservative Party summit to discuss ways of building more "responsible" communities and toughening Britain's criminal justice system". I don't think I am being too cynical to state that David Cameron is trying to score cheap political points with this performance.

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on April 10, 2008 (boomark / email).