When the jury say "the ends justify the means" we all need to be worried

How long before "the ends justify the means" tip those scales ?

by john of gwent

I believe Terry Pratchett claimed in the preface to a Discworld Novel that it was the chinese who invented the curse "May You Live In Interesting Times". He may be right, but right or wrong, I think times are about to get interesting for those whose right to peaceful expression of political beliefs that differ from those of government of the day is under attack from those who consider violence and the instilling of terror to be the only useful way to deal with those who do not share their political views.

And when those who currently make or oversee the process of making the law in this country say breaking the law is an acceptable way to get the law changed, can we really be surprised when juries take that point of view and put it into practice ?

For it seems breaking the law in with the aim of making the government change its policy is no longer illegal.

Six environmental protesters were cleared today of causing £30,000 of damage to a power station chimney.The group painted the name "Gordon" on the 656ft (200m) stack at Kingsnorth in Kent last October in a political protest against its redevelopment.The activists claimed they were acting lawfully to try to stop further damage to properties being caused around the world by global warming.

I find it interesting that environmental protestors whine and whimper when the laws they show no respect for are apparently violated by those opposed to them. As when this particular job was left to the french. Perhaps someone more competent should have been asked to do the job instead.

Now of course we have plenty of examples of how people breaking the law have risen to positions of power as a direct result of their illegal actions. I could point to quite a few. But this chap and this chap are perhaps prime examples.

But how long will it be before the campaign of violence waged against this chap for the work he does, or the way this chap met hs end are judged to be justified by virtue of their higher aims ?

I think there is a jury out there who should be blacklisted from ever sitting in judgement again. And I think there is a judge out there who should be censured for not making that very ruling.