Typically people who murder someone in England are sentenced from 10 to 25 years in prison. Of course situations very. Also many crimes of passion murderers are sentence to "open prison" which is sort of like an American halfway house where you have your own rooms, clothes, there are no guards and you are on the honor system.
See in America, jailing people is big business. Normally, prison guards have the biggest state unions, so they want as many people locked up as possible with the maximum of security.
England is different. they want people to re-enter society. So for them to want to lock up a nudist for life, that's pretty scary.
Stephen Gough enjoys walking around England nude. Sadly he has been arrested and jailed many times for doing so and he has spent a lot of time in jail. He has said he is like a modern day Rosa Parks trying to enlighten everyone that it is OK to be nude in public.
Now some nudists are uncomfortable with him as he pushes the envelope. However, if woman did not push for the right to vote, they never would have received it. If Rosa Parks did not refuse to go to the back of the bus, it would have been years before someone else got up the courage like her. If women hadn't have refused to wear the neck to ankle bathing costumes of the 1890's and insisted on safer bathing suits, then bikinis would never have been invented, etc.
I wish him good luck.
Here's the story:
British man Stephen Gough given ultimatum: Wear pants or go to jail for life
Naked rambler Stephen Gough, seen above in 2005, has been given an ultimatum: put on some clothes or go to jail for the rest of his life...
But an eccentric British man – who likens himself to civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks – is taking his time to think it over.
Stephen Gough, who has become famous for trying to walk around Britain naked, was found guilty earlier this week of breaching the peace by walking naked in the street after being released from Perth Prison Dec. 17, and refusing a police request to put clothes on in public, the Daily Mail reported.
Gough - who has spent most of the past seven years in jail for identical crimes - declined an offer to walk free on Monday on condition that he get dressed.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told Gough he wouldn’t have to be “crystal ball gazing” to realize that the same thing would happen “again and again and again.”
Gough, 50, said he may “potentially” stay in jail forever.
During his trial Gough compared himself to Rosa Parks and said his behavior was “reasonable,” the Daily Mail said.
“Essentially this is about individual freedom and people’s tolerance to other people being different. I understand a lot of people will disagree and have strong feelings about it.”...
“People who have brought great change often have to go to prison first,” Gough said. “People often have to go to prison for many years before others see the light.”
It’s estimated that Gough’s efforts to remain naked have cost the UK about $400,000, the Daily Mail said.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/01/13/2010-01-13_wear_your_pants_or_rot_in_cell.html#ixzz0cXieM4AE
I guess the thought of someone being different and walking around naked is scarier than someone who commits murder in England.
Good Luck Stephen Gough
Tom Mulhall
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2 comments:
Your headline is not correct. There is no way in uk law he can be sentenced to life imprisonment. The point being made is that he risks being gives regular short tema for the rest of his life if he keeps it up. I don't think that's true either. Public nudity is not actually illegal in the UK per se. In the article it was indicated he was arrested for a breach of the peace. In my view that was not a correct application of the law. Breaching the peace must involve harm or the threat of harm to another person or harm or the threat of harm to another person's property in their presence. It is not uncommon for the police to interpret it more widely- as in 'not doing as I say he should'. Public nudity was not criminalizes under the 200. Sexual offenses act unless someone is trying to harras another - eg targetted flashing for sexual gratification. Previously public nudity has been charged under the common law, or the 1846 Town Police Causes Act, s.28. there it is an offence for a man to indecently expose himself to the annoyance if passengers or passer by. This suggests that simple nudity is not itself caught - it mist be indecent as well. The section is very long and also criminalizes the beating if carpets, tobogganing and having washing across the street, s I recall. The problem in the UK is not so much with the actual law but with what the police znd in some cases the courts assume the law to be..
NudistStop.com Announces GOUGH NUDE!
The International Campaign to Free The Naked Rambler
NudistStop.com is proud to announce our international online campaign GOUGH NUDE! to urge Scottish authorities to grant Stephen Gough, aka "the Naked Rambler" his freedom and to stop harrassing him with meaningless prosecutions.
Stephen Gough, also known as The Naked Rambler, has been walking across Scotland and parts of the UK, in the nude for the better part of the last 7 years - the better part, that is, when he is not in jail. Scottish authorities have taken to sentencing him to prison for the offense of 'breaching the peace' which they have conveniently labelled his public act of civil disobedience. Last month, Gough, a former Royal Marine, was taken back into custody seconds after being released from the Perth Prison on December 17th for his refusal to get dressed. Sheriff Lindsay Foulis indicated that Gough would be arrested "again and again and again" if he failed to bend to the will of the law - which could result in Gough being perpetually imprisoned for a lifetime.
To date, the cost of prosecuting and imprisoning the Naked Rambler has exceeded £200,000 (approximately $325,000). Gough, who has compared himself to black civil rights activist Rosa Parks said: "Essentially this is about individual freedom and people's tolerance to other people being different. I understand a lot of people will disagree and have strong feelings about it." With regard to the possibility of extended periods of incarceration, Gough added: "People who have brought great change often have to go to prison first. People often have to go to prison for many years before other's see the light."
A representative of NudistStop.com made the following statement in support of the campaign. "Several milliion people enjoy the benefits of nude recreation and a nudist lifestyle across the world and every one of them is in peril of losing the freedom to do so at the hands of members of society who grievously over-react to simple, non-sexual, social nudity. The worst manifestation of this are laws that senselessly restrict one's ability to enjoy a natural and nude state without harassment. The idea of someone facing lifetime imprisonment for simply appearing nude in public strikes us as cruel and unusual in the extreme. Mr. Gough is taking a principled and personal stand to do something about that. In our opinion, anyone who values such freedom should be ready to stand right beside him. We believe this campaign offers just such an opportunity and we are confident it will attract many supporters to Mr. Gough's side."
NudistStop's campaign offers supporters the opportunity to sign a petition that reads: "We the undersigned hereby urge all relevant officials in Scotland to release Stephen Gough from custody, to end his perpetual harrassment by law enforcement agencies and the courts and to seriously reconsider their draconian measures for addressing simple, non-sexual public nudity."
Individuals wishing to participate in the campaign can do so at http://www.nudiststop.com/gough_nude_sfw
NudistStop.com is the one stop destination for individuals and families interested in nudist, naturist and "clothing optional" lifestyles. NudistStop provides news, information, discussion forums, products and services of interest to the nudist/naturist community worldwide.
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