Editor, The Australian: Sir, I respond to your report “Pedophiles neighbors demand sacking of state Housing Minister” p.6, 18/9/09, and “Ticket to Ryde” by Chris Merritt.
When any person has offended as Dennis Ferguson has, it is important that three objectives are achieved in our justice and penal systems without hindrance or encouragement from the media.
They are:
- punishment,
- protection of society; and
- rehabilitation.
I suggest those objectives in this case have been achieved, it is wrong to keep a person in prison longer than necessary because it is counterproductive and financial resources are been taken away from health and education.
It is obvious the law needs to be changed, to protect due process of these three objectives. For example, it should be a criminal offence for the media to air where the ex-offenders is living, so as to give him or her a chance to become a responsible citizen.
I would have thought that newspapers would understand the overall objective of the penal and justice system. It’s time that MPs in the state of NSW from both sides of the house realize that keeping anyone in jail when they are not a threat to the community is a waste of resources.
Even though risks always have to be taken in life that people may reoffend; even going to work everyday, there’s nothing to say that you’re going to arrive safely, you may be seriously injured, or killed by a drunk driver, but it doesn’t stop people going to work. Life is full of risks, I believe the authorities in the penal system do their best to minimize that risk.
Brian G. Tennant, defender of the poor and the unpopular, member of Civil Liberties Australia