Good news, and not so good

The good news is that I'm delighted to be proved wrong.!
See here
It would seem the Crown Prosecution Service has had a rush of common sense and instructed the Leicestershire Police, after three days in custody, to release the man and wife who shot two burglars at their home.
They are not to be charged but the burglars are - hooray!

Some more good news is that, at long last, the Government intends to make squatting a criminal offence, time will tell just how the police will react to such matters in the future.

The best news of all is that at last we are rid of Ken Clarke as Justice Secretary, how his successor will fare we shall have to wait and see, but he can't be any worse.

The not so good news comes fromTeeside Crown Court where a true disciple of Ken Clarke, His Honour Judge Peter Bowers, a self-proclaimed 'softie', praises the courage of a three-times burglar!
Now it must be obvious I'm no fan of the Sentencing Guidelines but they're there and we, and Judge Bowers, are stuck with them.
It would seem that Richard Rochford broke into three houses, two of which were occupied at the time, one by a 73 year old man and his 71 year old wife, and attempted to burgle another one, stealing a considerable amount of property including making off with one of his victim's cars.
If the Guidelines on sentencing had been followed then such multiple offences, committed at night to occupied properties and under the influence of drugs, ought to have resulted in a sentence of 3 years imprisonment, reduced to 2 years for a guilty plea. In fact Judge Bowers imposed a 12 month sentence, suspended for 12 months and his praise for the criminal has led to a number of complaints, and an official investigation into his comments by the Office for Judicial Complaints, although, regrettably, not into his sentencing.

It has been said that Judge Bowers is one of the tougher judges at Teeside Crown Court, God help us if that's the case.