Judge Takes Away Teen's Xbox

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
1
0
Judge Takes Away Teen's Xbox


A judge in Ireland has ordered a Belfast teenager to surrender his Xbox 360 to teach him what it's like to lose something he values.

Here's a story that warms the cockles of my heart and while I may not know exactly what a cockle is, I do know that I like it when a creative judge drops the hammer of imaginative justice on some teenaged idiot. Like the story of a 13-year-old Irish lad accused of committing a string of robberies who applied for release on bail. A High Court judge agreed but as part of the process asked him what he owned that really meant a lot to him.

Were he a few years older he might have seen this coming but, blinded by his youthful naivete, he said, as many young teens would, that his Xbox rig was his most prized possession. Fine, said the judge, who then took it away. The boy was told that his system would be returned to him once his charges were taken care of and in the meantime, it would teach him what it was like to lose something he treasures.

The lizard part of my brain enjoys this story because, hey, punk kid suffers. But on a more socially conscious level I also hope that the poetic justice laid down by this judge does some good and that this kid realizes that behaving selfishly hurts other people - and that the knowledge inspires him to get his stuff straight. Punishment that amuses and corrects? That's my kind of justice.

Source: Slashdot [http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0629/xbox.html]


Permalink
 

Khinjarsi

New member
Mar 14, 2011
43
0
0
Interesting. Maybe this should be done more frequently? Not necessarily with Xboxs particularly. Hope the kid learns his lesson.
 

drakythe

New member
Feb 10, 2011
203
0
0
I like this judge. Too bad he'd probably be sued in America for causing psychological harm or some other BS.
 

slacker09

New member
Aug 2, 2010
103
0
0
Wow, that is kind of awesome. I sometimes feel that the punishments doled out for crimes need more wonderfully ironic consequences, someday it should look like the ending of a twilight zone or outer limits episode.
 

Austin Howe

New member
Dec 5, 2010
946
0
0
Well, not sure if that would be allowed to happen in America. That's part of the reason I like it here. Even if they kept the Xbox, there'd be a debate.

But seriously, we abandoned "Eye for an eye" decades ago. I'm feeling kinda Ron Paul on this one: send him to jail, but let him keep his shit at home.
 

Quaxar

New member
Sep 21, 2009
3,949
0
0
Austin Howe said:
Well, not sure if that would be allowed to happen in America. That's part of the reason I like it here. Even if they kept the Xbox, there'd be a debate.

But seriously, we abandoned "Eye for an eye" decades ago. I'm feeling kinda Ron Paul on this one: send him to jail, but let him keep his shit at home.
So? They're just turning it around. Send the kid home but keep his shit in "jail".
Sort of. You get the idea.
 

Not G. Ivingname

New member
Nov 18, 2009
6,368
0
0
Austin Howe said:
Well, not sure if that would be allowed to happen in America. That's part of the reason I like it here. Even if they kept the Xbox, there'd be a debate.

But seriously, we abandoned "Eye for an eye" decades ago. I'm feeling kinda Ron Paul on this one: send him to jail, but let him keep his shit at home.
I do see your point there. Sliding scale of when something is "something of value to teach me a lesson" can leave a presidence that leads to "taking all your money away to deprive you of your ability to defend yourself."
 

Fiz_The_Toaster

books, Books, BOOKS
Legacy
Jan 19, 2011
5,498
1
3
Country
United States
Now that is all kinds of awesome!

Too bad that shit won't fly here in the states....
 

razer17

New member
Feb 3, 2009
2,518
0
0
Austin Howe said:
Well, not sure if that would be allowed to happen in America. That's part of the reason I like it here. Even if they kept the Xbox, there'd be a debate.

But seriously, we abandoned "Eye for an eye" decades ago. I'm feeling kinda Ron Paul on this one: send him to jail, but let him keep his shit at home.
Yeah, let's pay thousands of pounds a year to let some little shit stay in prison. Or send him home, one 360 less, and hope he learns his lesson.

OT: Let's hope he is reformed. Probably not, but let's just hope so. If he isn't, he can easily rob some more people and buy a new one. OR even just rob himself another 360.
 

Fiz_The_Toaster

books, Books, BOOKS
Legacy
Jan 19, 2011
5,498
1
3
Country
United States
Hardcore_gamer said:
Fiz_The_Toaster said:
Now that is all kinds of awesome!

Too bad that shit won't fly here in the states....
Judges in America can't do stuff like this?
They can, but judges here just make them to community service or whatever. It's very rare that a judge here will do something like this, but if one were to do it here someone will scream how it's not fair or it doesn't fit the crime, or some bs like that.
 

The Rogue Wolf

Stealthy Carnivore
Legacy
Nov 25, 2007
16,302
8,779
118
Stalking the Digital Tundra
Gender
✅
Hardcore_gamer said:
Fiz_The_Toaster said:
Now that is all kinds of awesome!

Too bad that shit won't fly here in the states....
Judges in America can't do stuff like this?
It would really depend on state/local laws allowing for the judge to institute his/her own idea of punishment outside the legal framework. But I think what Fiz is getting at is that the kid's parents would immediately sue the judge for daring to inconvience and damage the self-esteem of their precious little felon angel.

EDIT: Or Fiz could answer too. That's cool.
 

XaVierDK

New member
Jan 16, 2008
86
0
0
To a degree, this is probably the best kind of treatment for a kid his age... Be reminded, this isn't his sentence, it is a condition for his bail... So in my world, fair enough :)
 

OtherSideofSky

New member
Jan 4, 2010
1,051
0
0
You know, I might support this had he actually been convicted, but as it is this sounds a bit premature if he hasn't actually stood trial yet. I mean, creative justice is all well and good, but you need to make sure the person you punishing is actually guilty. If he's pleading guilty I'd be okay with it, but the article is (as with all legal articles on the Escapist) rather sparse in that kind of significant detail. Actually, this site seems to always just assume the accused is guilty. It's a tad worrying.
 

Vrach

New member
Jun 17, 2010
3,223
0
0
Isn't there a clause in the American law that prevents "cruel and unusual punishment"? Seems to fit the bill for the latter.
 

Retal19

New member
Dec 5, 2010
183
0
0
Tempted to burst into a spew of Patriotism here.
Ireland amazes me in more than Weather Patterns sometimes, like this here. Most judges would probably just settle for the usual punishment and leave it be, and yes, I allowed myself a giggle at this, although the Judge's ingenuity impresses me.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

New member
May 22, 2010
7,370
0
0
OtherSideofSky said:
You know, I might support this had he actually been convicted, but as it is this sounds a bit premature if he hasn't actually stood trial yet. I mean, creative justice is all well and good, but you need to make sure the person you punishing is actually guilty. If he's pleading guilty I'd be okay with it, but the article is (as with all legal articles on the Escapist) rather sparse in that kind of significant detail. Actually, this site seems to always just assume the accused is guilty. It's a tad worrying.
This site? Try the general public. If the Casey Anthony trial has taught us anything, it's that we need an impartial justice system, because without it, humans quickly degenerate into a lynch mob.

OT: If OtherSideofSky is right, and this was done before the trial, there's something seriously wrong here. You shouldn't punish people who are accused of, but not convicted of, the crime they are being punished for. Innocent until proven guilty goes back to the fricken' Magna Carta -- any nation with ties to the UK should recognize its importance.
 

Sougo

New member
Mar 20, 2010
634
0
0
hmmm... seems like kid does the crime, and his xbox gets jailed for it! Seems pretty fair actually.

Vrach said:
Isn't there a clause in the American law that prevents "cruel and unusual punishment"? Seems to fit the bill for the latter.
Fortunately, contrary to popular belief in America, the rest of the world does not run on America's laws.

Also, I don't think theres anything 'cruel' about this, if anything its a lighter sentence given with the hope of straightening the kid out without handing him a scarring punishment.