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LibDems lurch to the Right of the Tories in demand that prisoners pay tax

By John Hirst

LibDems lurch to the Right of the Tories in demand that prisoners pay tax

BTW, Cherie Blair supports prisoners to get the minimum wage

I don't know how I missed this story on Sunday, but here it is belatedly.

"CHERIE BLAIR, wife of the former prime minister, is leading a drive for prisoners to earn up to £10,000 a year doing work in jail for firms which are household names".

"Nick Herbert, the shadow justice secretary, said: ?As long as proper deductions are being made I see no reason why they should not be allowed to earn a proper wage as part of a process of rehabilitating them...?".

And, rather disturbingly, the LibDems lurching to the Far Right, somewhere midway between the Tories and the BNP, "David Heath, the Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, said: ?Convicts should be made to give a good proportion of their wages to the victims of crime?". This has echoes of Anne Widdecombe...

So, David Heath is proposing a victim tax upon prisoners? The term convicts is so last century. Has he not heard of "No taxation without representation"? When all convicted prisoners are giving their human right to vote, give me a call and we will discuss the issue. But, I'm warning you now, prisoners are sent to prison as a punishment which is the sentence of the court. By serving the sentence, prisoners are already paying the price demanded by society at large. Surely, you must be aware that punishing twice for the one offence is unlawful and a breach of human rights?

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on February 20, 2008 (boomark / email).