Sir, – I am not outraged by the sentence received by the convicted criminal Paul Begley, so perhaps I am not a “right-thinking person” by Patrick Conneally’s definition (March 13th).
I am not sure if Mr Conneally is appealing against the conviction or the sentencing. Either way, his argument that the sentence was excessive appears to be that the law is incorrect and therefore it is okay to break it and secondly that Mr Begley is repaying the money that he defrauded from every taxpayer.
The first is patently absurd and could be used by every white-collar criminal to avoid his or her punishment. The second ignores the fact that returning what you have stolen is not a punishment for a crime: it is simply returning what is not yours.
Mr Begley knowingly and repeatedly broke the law of this country, effectively stealing millions from every single one of us. He was tried, convicted and sentenced. He has the right of appeal and I presume he was defended by a competent barrister. Put simply, he got what the law says he deserved for his crime.
Finally, calling for a Minister to intervene on behalf of a convicted criminal to get their sentence reduced or conviction overturned ignores a fundamental tenet of modern legal systems – separation of legislative, executive judicial powers. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I was delighted to read that the crazy practice of importing garlic from China is taxed at 24 times the normal rate.
Just think of the carbon foot print of each clove. It is a plant which grows exceptionally well in this country. It is not too late to plant this year. Try it among the roses, untidy but great for keeping greenfly at bay. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I see Ireland is now no longer a banana republic. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Much comment is made about the inappropriateness of the six-year jail sentence facing the accused, on the grounds that he is paying back the monies defrauded, to the Revenue Commissioners.
Surely this implies that his mistake was in getting caught? If all criminals offered to “pay back” their ill-gotten gains on being apprehended, thereby wiping the slate clean, it would considerably alleviate the current pressure on space in our jails. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The whole case just leaves a bad taste in the mouth. – Yours, etc,