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Nick Hardwick Resigns...

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Togo | 10:27 Wed 28th Mar 2018 | News
22 Answers
Before he is pushed?

//The chairman of the Parole Board has reportedly resigned just minutes before a decision is due in the case of black cab rapist John Worboys.
Professor Nick Hardwick was appointed chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales in March 2016.
But it emerged he is to stand down on the day a decision is announced in the case of serial rapist John Worboys, who the Parole Board decided should be freed in a controversial decision earlier this year.//

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5553189/Parole-Board-chairman-forced-resign-ahead-Worboys-ruling.html
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The government has an ideal opportunity following the Warboys case and the resignation of Mr Hardwicke – abolish the Parole Board. To achieve this it needs to legislate to abolish so-called “Life” sentences (the biggest misnomer of modern times). They then need to ensure that those convicted are handed determinate sentences (including "Whole...
10:50 Wed 28th Mar 2018
Gotta guard that pension entitlement, whatever happens.
I'm not bothered about his resignation one way or another. The important thing is that this ridiculous decision is overturned.
Everyone should resign when a twitter storm says so.
The government has an ideal opportunity following the Warboys case and the resignation of Mr Hardwicke – abolish the Parole Board. To achieve this it needs to legislate to abolish so-called “Life” sentences (the biggest misnomer of modern times). They then need to ensure that those convicted are handed determinate sentences (including "Whole Life" where appropriate) and that those sentences are served in full without exception. This has a number of advantages:

1. The Parole Board (currently 167 members) could be abolished.

2. The considerable expenses incurred by other agencies (principally the probation service, the psychiatric health service and the prison service) could be saved.

3. Judicial decisions made by judges based on the facts surrounding the offence would not be undermined by a bunch of people, many of whom have no judicial expertise.

4. Everybody – those convicted, the victims and the general public – would know where they stand.

All of the five functions of the Parole Board would be unnecessary under the above plan.
Brilliantly put,NJ,but you know that won't happen.
It's beyond me how anyone can possibly want to release such a low life scum. We have such people on the public payroll, something is seriously wrong.
TTT - // It's beyond me how anyone can possibly want to release such a low life scum. //

Because it is the Parole Board's job to assess whether or not a criminal is rehabilitated sufficiently to rejoin society.

On many occasions I am sure they make the correct decision - which should not be automatically negated by the fact that they appear on this occasion to have made the wrong decision.
as long as Warboys stays in prison, that would be a good thing
emmie - // as long as Warboys stays in prison, that would be a good thing //

I doubt you'd find anyone who would gainsay that - with the exception of Mr Warboys and his legal counsel of course.
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Douglas has a point methinks. Will we now be treated to closer scrutiny of some of the other contentious decisions made by Hardwick?
I don't always agree with NJ - although I do always appreciate the thought he gives his replies - but in this case he seems to have hit the nail very firmly on the head.

The Parole Board is broken beyond repair (as is the system which requires it to exist) and it should be abolished and sentencing powers should reside entirely with the Judge(s) who hear the original case and/or any appeals.
Hardwick has previously asked that the board be allowed to give details of its decisions.

He didn’t make this decision, he wasn’t on the panel.

But go right ahead making things up.
Would love to know how much this has cost the taxpayer and it aint over yet.
//Hardwick has previously asked that the board be allowed to give details of its decisions. //

legislation forbids it. it wasn't for professor hardwick to request.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1041/article/25/made

that said, one of the results of today's judgment is that the government need to look at the legislation again.
I may be wrong here but I'm sure that in my young days there was no such thing as parole in the UK. This was an American concept.
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//The Parole Board was set up in 1967 to advise the Home Secretary, who was then responsible for the release of prisoners on licence and their recall to prison. Offender management is now the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. Since 1967 the Parole Board has been transformed from an advisory body, which usually made decisions ‘on the papers’ about a prisoner, and which did not have the final say as to release, to a judicial body determining the length of time that a large number of prisoners will spend in custody.//

Like every other U.K. "organisation" or "service" it has grown out of all recognition Jackdaw, and taken on a new life and meaning of it's own. Usually political and certainly not for the better. The NHS being just the most obvious of candidates.
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Of course no discussion about legal matters can now ignore this flea in the ointment.

//The jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and more recently, of domestic courts under the Human Rights Act 1998, has resulted in major changes to the parole system in England and Wales. These are focused in three areas: the need for the Board to be independent; the need for prisoners to be afforded procedural rights, including oral hearings; and the need to avoid excessive delay in considering cases.//

https://justice.org.uk/parole-system-england-wales/
Good riddance !
AH: "Because it is the Parole Board's job to assess whether or not a criminal is rehabilitated sufficiently to rejoin society" - how can that ever be true in this case? This is Liberals sticking up 2 fingers to the rest of us.
TTT - // AH: "Because it is the Parole Board's job to assess whether or not a criminal is rehabilitated sufficiently to rejoin society" - how can that ever be true in this case? This is Liberals sticking up 2 fingers to the rest of us. //

I only said that was the Parole Board's job - I didn't say that they get it right every time, or in this case, within a galaxy of being right!!!

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