All
on the bench cannot fail to occasionally have had deep sympathy for finding a
parent or guardian guilty of failing to ensure a child`s school attendance or
having to sentence for such an offence.
Recent publicity on a few such cases has brought the problem to a wider
audience. The sentencing decision of colleagues
at Plymouth in just such a matter
resulted in a pregnant woman being given 60 days immediate custody. This outcome is highly unusual and no doubt
will be picked up by various lobby groups as an example of our draconian laws
leading to unnecessarily high rates of incarceration.
I
doubt my colleagues will face a similar situation for a very long time.
But already under a suspended sentence and also failed to appear previously.
ReplyDeleteAs always, there is more to the story than is reported.
Good to see a previously suspended activated. All too often, it is not.
ReplyDelete