Meet the boy racer in your neighbourhood
Mother: Don't send my son's killer to jail
A mother whose 4-year-old son was killed in front of her by an out-of-control teenage motorist says the driver is not a bad person and she does not want him jailed.
See that face NZ, that's your boy racer you want locked up and the key thrown away over. It is inspiring to hear a mother not demand vengeance, and instead is willing to ask for mercy over a teenagers moment of stupidity that has cost another their life.
Emma Woods is an example to us all and her compassion reminds us that a lynch mob mentality doesn't solve anything.
posted by Bomber @ 5:20 pm
10 comments
10 Comments:
Mmmmm might sound all warm and fuzzy to you ... but ..... 'the best predictor of future behaviour is ....' If he kills or maims someone else will all this forgiveness sound so good then .....
Does Ms Woods have the right to decide if this killer should be let off to put the lives of others (and his own) in danger, does she have the right to promote the message that if you kill (in a moment of stupidity or otherwise) you have a ‘right’ to be forgiven and not punished.
Many people in a similar situation want to see their loved ones killer punished in the strongest way – are their views less valid, or are they to be derided as vengeance seeking, red necks to be abused and insulted.
Are we going to allow victims, or their surviving family (if they have any), to decide who is to be punished (or not) and how. Ms Woods may be an example to you but not to others. She may be a deluded, naive, dreamer trying to buy points into ‘heaven’, she may not see her child’s life as valuable, she may believe she will see the child again and that ‘death’ is only temporary – we do not know her reasons for this (compassionate) response.
Ms Woods may be a person who believes in punishment far worse than anything others might see as just - in the eternal after-life perhaps .... A lot of people are not quite as forgiving as they present, many have gods punishment to make them feel better. Those in the real world may want something a rather more tangible.
Is there any real evidence that 'forgiveness', and no punishment, works...... easy to look all sad and sorry for the camera, I would be looking for a lot more than that. Is this killer sad and sorry for himself or for the dead child ......
How about asking other people personally affected by this killing, the police and other emergency services who had to attend the scene, the medical staff at the hospitals who spend their working lives trying to put people back together and breaking the news when they can’t, how about the undertakers who bury these children – maybe they want something different done about these killers .... maybe their PTSD affect more than them, what about their families ....
Its not just about Ms Wood, these deaths have affects on wider society .... Ms Woods has every right to speak for herself but she does not have the right to speak for them.
Well said.
Emma Woods obviously has a brain, she doesn't buy into media hype and the inevitable moral panic...even when she's mourning and has every right to be angry.
If Emma gets her way the Nats and the Maori Party will be gutted...the more we lock up, the more repeat prisoners we get, the more repeat prisoners we get, the more we sell the jails for.
What about those old retired boy racers driving the wrong way...oh, thats right, they vote.
Moment of stupidly - the evidence may suggest otherwise, adapting a vehicle to the point where it is not suitable to drive on public roads took more than a moment.
Choosing to regularly drive said vehicle recklessly on public roads took more than a moment.
Questions have to be asked about killers family, what sort of mother allows a dangerous vehicle to be registered in her name and driven by reckless son.
I came across a partner of a ‘blokey’ jailed for a driving killing her is what she said ‘he’s not really a criminal, he’s just a dangerous driver’, guess you either get it or you don’t.
As for Ms Woods brain, NZ has plenty of naive, dim women who love killers, just go out to Auckland prison on visiting day and see them queuing up to visit their friends. What is so appealing and sexy about criminals is a mystery to me, it is a widespread phenomenon.
Some would argue that the stabing of Pihema Cameron by Bruce Emery was donw in a 'moment of ????' don't recall cries for 'mercy' and forgivness in that case.
Totally agree Bomber, her words will be ringing in his ears for the rest of his life. Will make him a much better man than jail could ever achieve.
So would Bruce Emery.
Fine upstanding family man with no previous convictions.
Just a stupid lapse of judgement.
Shouldn't be in prison.
I'm sure you agree Bomber.
' Totally agree Bomber, her words will be ringing in his ears for the rest of his life. Will make him a much better man than jail could ever achieve...'
...and your evidence is, time will tell perhaps.
Maybe he will be like this thing http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/repeat-drink-driver-bailed-responsible-for-childs-death-bailed/story-e6frg13u-1225853740188
he has a little sob every time they pick him up, but once the cameras are off he is soon laughing again. By the way the family of the child he killed want 'justice' they want him locked up - for a long time, I doubt they would share your high opinion of Ms Woods.
Although I would not usually take the time to respond to comments made in ignorance I have found some of the content on this site so offensive and insulting that I have been compelled to.
In response to Anonymous' first comment,
"Are we going to allow victims, or their surviving family (if they have any), to decide who is to be punished (or not) and how. Ms Woods may be an example to you but not to others."
I have not decided how Ashely is to be punished. That will be for the judge to decide. I merely commented (when asked by the media) if I believed Ashley belonged in prison. I said, "no". The reasons for this are because I believe that taxpayers pay to keep people in prison for two reasons; to be rehabilitated or to keep society safe from them. I do not believe prison fits in either case for this situation. I believe that a person who made a mistake and is truly remorseful can pay their debt to society in ways that are more beneficial than sitting in prison.
The second comment I find offensive by Anonymous's is;
"She may be a deluded, naive, dreamer trying to buy points into ‘heaven’, she may not see her child’s life as valuable, she may believe she will see the child again and that ‘death’ is only temporary – we do not know her reasons for this (compassionate) response."
Rest assured Anonymous, I am not so "deluded" to believe I will see my child's face again. When I closed the coffin I knew it was the last time I would see his face and when I lowered his body into the earth I knew it would be last time I would hold him. Do not presume to believe that I did not value his life. I spent every day of the four years and three months of his life with him, next to him, listening to his stories and loving his life more than I love my own. I have never been referred to as a "dreamer" or "naive" by anyone who knows me and I am not trying to buy points anywhere. The reason for the "compassionate" response is because I am a thinking, rational human being, who was present at the time of the accident, who is aware of information you would not have got from the papers and who generally tries to make an informed decision. What about you anonymous? How are you personally involved? Where do you get your facts from?
Another Anonymous said, (or could it be the same Anonymous again? It's hard to know when people sign off their thoughts anonymously)
"As for Ms Woods brain, NZ has plenty of naive, dim women who love killers, just go out to Auckland prison on visiting day and see them queuing up to visit their friends..."
Please, be assured I have never had an inclination to visit a killer in prison. I have also never had anyone who knows me refer to me as "dim" or "naive".
In response to deano's comments;
"All the Christchurch boy racers cheer, go Emma!
Luckily for us the judge will decide the sentence, not the poor mother."
I am not sure why "boy racers" will be cheering my name. I have never spoken positively on behalf of "boy racers". I spoke my views on a 17 year old driver. I am unwilling to label someone based on their age or the car they happened to be driving. As I stated earlier, I gather facts from sources other than newspapers and think about them before I react. While there were eyewitness reports of "drifting" in the paper there were also reports that it was my other son who had died and many other incorrect “facts” that were published in newspapers and in other media.
I believe that stereotyping is a dangerous practise and only leads to an "us and them" mentality, as this blog clearly demonstrates.
I would encourage people to keep an open mind and not be swayed by media hype and hatred. If you are angry then find a positive outlet. Perhaps petition your local MPs to get these kind of cars off the roads or improve the training new drivers need to complete before they get their licenses. Making random "anonymous" comments on a blog is not the best way to channel it.
Let me clarify, at the risk of offending, that when I use the word ignorant I am referring to the comments and not the person making them. Although I realise some people are happy to pass judgment on a person’s character without meeting them, I am not one of those people. I use the word ignorant as the dictionary definition “lacking in knowledge”. These comments clearly demonstrate a lack of knowledge about this particular case. I, on the other hand, have more knowledge about this situation than I would like. I know what it is like to see my child in a morgue. I know what it is like to live the last 80 days without him. I know what it is like to sit across the table from his killer and realise the effect it is having on him and his family. Although ignorance is often seen as negative, in this situation I would see ignorance as bliss.
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