Mr A (scumbag rapist] is now back in Arbour hill
Martin | 06.02.06 - 6:11 pm | #

then perhaps a paedophile would not have been released back into Irish society.
Is it not the case thay if he brought the law in 2002 that anyone convicted prior to 2002 would have been still covered by the supmere court decission. As no law can be retrospective.

Also seemingly The state has one the case against MR A. And he has to return to jail.
simon | Homepage | 06.02.06 - 6:13 pm | #

Is it not the case thay if he brought the law in 2002 that anyone convicted prior to 2002 would have been still covered by the supmere court decission

It is Simon, If McDowell had of introduced these new proposals then Mr A (aka scumbag bastard) would have had no grounds for appeal whatsoever as he pleaded guilty and admitted he knew her age.

He is not a responsible or capable Minister for Justice and this country deserves better.
Chris Gaskin | Homepage | 06.02.06 - 7:04 pm | #

Chris, "Mr. A" committed his crime before McDowell was appointed Minister for Justice, so nothing McDowell could have done would have made a difference in his particular case.

Not that I'm not happy to see him carry the can for it, of course.
Wednesday | Homepage | 06.02.06 - 8:35 pm | #

wednesday that is my point. Nora Owen and the others since 1990 are as much to blame as Michael McDowell.
simon | Homepage | 06.03.06 - 4:10 pm | #

Mr A has been re-arrested under the new statute already?
Or is there some other reason? Sorry, perhaps I have missed something here?
Jo | Homepage | 06.03.06 - 8:27 pm | #

Childhood was a Victorian invention - it didn't exist up until that era. Prior to that childhood ended around the age of five when the child would work in a factory, field, mine, or beg, whatever. A female child was normally married around age 12. So, a lot of this is culture-based, not nature-based. Personally, I would lower the age to 14 for both genders and let them get on with what they're getting on with anyway: bonking like bunnies.
The Dubliner | 06.03.06 - 8:53 pm | #

I agree with Dubliners conclusion, but not his premise.
In the West we've forgotten the meaning and spirituality of "the rights of passage", and what constitutes maturity.
The movie "Emerald Forest", shows the natural way of progress from boyhood to manhood.
Its something we've lost, ie that initiation, and we need to get it back.
Parsifal | Homepage | 06.03.06 - 11:40 pm | #

Jo, Mr. A was rearrested because the Supreme Court ruled that he was wrong to be released in the first place.
Wednesday | Homepage | 06.04.06 - 9:35 am | #