Re: Usenet forgery being investigated

In article <831145340.4705.1_at_acclaim.demon.co.uk>, Frankh_at_acclaim.demon.co.uk (Frank Hendrix) wrote:

>;>Me? I am not going to punish anyone. I think people should be punished for
>;>physically harming other people though, whoever they are.
>;
>;Rather than punishing them after the event, how about preventing the
>;damage in the first place? I doubt if the people of Dunblane get much
>;satisfaction from the death of the person who killed their children
>;any more than the victims of Hungerford (or any other unlawful
>;killing) did. The people of Tasmania will not get their loved ones
>;back by punishment of the offender.

This is an unusually long response from you Frank.

When I was talking about punishing people I was of course referring to those in their right mind who know full well what they are doing.

Thank you for quoting those extreme examples of crime though I am not sure how relevant they are to the current topics of forgery and libel. I do not know how one can prevent mental instability nor do I think you should punish people for it but it is understandable that those who have suffered because of horrendous crimes should want revenge, not that it will do any good. The reality is that human beings sometimes malfunction and do nasty things just like machines.

>;You are aware that in my case it's not a matter of stopping people
>;expressing their opinions, aren't you? It's a question of someone
>;fraudulently using my name and expressing obscene and racist opinions
>;which are not mine.

So what? You are free to counter such claims aren't you? In fact you are in the process of doing just that now. Would you prefer that us free speakers should go in perpetual fear of a 5 year prison sentence just so that Frank can get satisfaction from some muddle brained troller?

>;I am totally and completely opposed to racism. As
>;it happens there are laws in the UK against inciting racist hatred. In
>;the opinion of the police the statements made by the forger probably
>;contravene these laws.

There are lots of laws in the UK against lots of things and if the police operated according to the full letter of the law we would probably all be banged up inside right now.

>;In the extreme case such statements could cause racial incidents which
>;might result in people being injured or having their property damaged.
>;Enough is enough: the fraudulent forger must accept responsibility for
>;his or her actions.

If people are injured or have their property damaged then, of course, somebody should be held accountable, but for just publishing words?

What do you think should happen to those responsible for lying in court and sending innocent people to prison for 15 years, like those responsible for putting the Birmingham six away? How many years should people get for presenting false evidence in court?

Doug.

--
London, England, UK, EU.