From: hilary [haash1@student.monash.edu.au]
Sent: Friday, 6 July 2001 8:18 PM
To: legcon.sen@aph.gov.au
Subject: mandatory sentencing override

to The Secretary
 Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee

since learning about the draconian mandatory sentencing
laws operating in NT and WA, i have been horrified by
them, yet felt helpless to do anything about laws
operating in states outside victoria. i therefore
welcome this initiative by senator bob brown in his
private member's bill which seeks to override state
mandatory sentencing laws.

i believe that any law which determines a mandatory
sentence runs counter to democratic and judicial
process, and fails to respect the capacity of judges to
weigh a range of factors relating to individual victims
and individual crimes.

i further believe that mandatory sentencing entrenches
the idea that criminals are not part of society and
have to be put away, when their behaviour often
reflects a larger picture. we are all part of the one
society and deserve a full place in it.

mandatory sentencing effectively absolves the wider
community from finding ways to include and care for
members whose behaviour may be dysfunctional for a
range of reasons. prisons are neither equipped nor
empowered to enable inmates to aspire to a healthy
place in their community. quite the contrary. a person
who enters a prison after committing a non-violent
crime may well be released as a trained criminal, thus
creating a larger problem. other ways need to be sought
to address the social ills expressed in this behaviour.

i also wish to raise concerns about the impact on the
life of a person who may be suffering from a
psychiatric illness, or some other disability. the
devastation of time in prison for such a person's life
may well be disporoportionate to the crime, and yet a
judge has no optional course of action.

i congratulate senator bob brown for this private
member's bill, and pray that the senate will recognise
its importance and ensure its passage.

hilary ash
1/20 seymour rd
elsternwick 3185