A correspondent has lashed out at people like us for supporting convicted pedophile Dennis Ferguson, out of jail after completing his sentence but being hounded from pillar to post. Here’s the reply, by CLA CEO Bill Rowlings, to the writer Lenny who says civil liberties people are worse than terrorists.

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Lenny

Thanks for your unusual email. It's not often civil liberties people get compared to terrorists, so you've really made us think with your pertinent comments:

You people are more danger to Australian society than any terror group on the planet.You are fucking disgusting

You're obviously interested in the civil liberties of individuals like Dennis Ferguson, and of society in general, so why don't you consider joining Civil Liberties Australia? You can do so online, just $25 a year.

Civil liberties people are interested in your personal rights, Lenny, and also the personal rights of one individual, Ferguson, who has served time for pedophilia and is now a free citizen, like you.

Same issue holds true for Ferguson as for burglars, people caught smoking pot...anyone convicted and sentenced for heavy drink-driving offences, for example.

Perhaps you could think about whether you'd let a bloke out of jail if he had served his sentence after killing a child five years ago when the bloke drove a car when drunk?  Obviously, he has the potential to do the same again...just like a pedophile does.  Do we keep the drunk-driver in jail forever, when he has completed a five-year sentence?  He might re-offend.

What about the bloke who raped and murdered a woman at a railway station, and was sentenced to 20 years? After 20 years, do we let him out? He might do it again.

What about the mother of three children under 12 who shot up on heroin, and did three years in jail. Do we let her out? She's obviously likely to do the same again, and there's her children to consider?  And the neighbour's children, and the kids at the local school...  Should we keep her locked up, to protect everybody's children?

If we do or we don't keep people in jail at the end of their sentences, on what principle do we – you, and me, all of Australian society – make the decision? Perhaps you could write down the basis, the principle, of how you would decide between these different cases, and let us know.

For the moment, the Australian society we all want to protect operates to a simple principle that we all understand: anyone does the crime, does his or her time, and then leaves jail a free man or woman.

In fact, that's how the Australian nation was founded when the convicts were sent out from England. No nation on earth is more based on the principle of ex-convicts being released as free men and women than Australia is.  (I wonder if there were any pedophiles on the First Fleet?)

If pedophiles are a problem – and civil liberties people agree with you that they are – we need a solution to that problem.

Keeping them locked in jail when they've served their sentence is not an acceptable solution by the principles of justice that Australians live by.

By the way, we're equally as interested in protecting your rights to slag off at CLA in an email (without anyone censoring your email from reaching its target because of 'inappropriate language') as we are in protecting Ferguson's right to live outside jail now he has served his time.

Our campaign to protect the rights of people like you to sound off, swear in 'public' and make outrageous statements in emails can be found here: http://www.censorfree.com.au/index.php

Why don't you join CLA, and help us protect your rights to write more emails like the one you sent us?

Regards, Bill Rowlings, CEO
CLA