to not mind a bit that the woman who murdered her 3 children...

[vinegarpuss]

is being targeted by other prisoners.

(Pulling on my hard hat and waiting with trepidation)

They enjoy violence because they enjoy the feeling of control and power it gives them. They're directing violence at this woman because her acts have made them feel out of control. They can't understand it so they lash oUt. People only enjoy violence because of power. Honestly, that's psychology 101.

I would like to ask the people braying for blood here how they categorise the dreadful situation of someone killing THEMSELVES ie someone jumping off a balcony or infront of a train. IMO it's the same tragic situation. Someone's mind has gone to a far off and terrifying place.

The older I get the more I realise that this could happen to anyone; temporary insanity.

I think it would be respectful to the children and their poor father to let this post close now.

OhSuzanna how can you say 'the poor woman'

YANBU.

BarbarianMum, you'd be surprised. But thats not my opinion, I just want to make that clear! Putting it blankly any inmates who've committed crimes against children are seen of by other inmates as being the worst of the bunch, but it tends to be paedophiles who get regular beatings, rather than murderers. Sometimes that is down to the fact that some prisoners have been abused themselves as children.

Thanks for explaining, I guess it makes a kind of twisted sense - but I'm still .

LittleWhiteWolf... LyingWitch, I'm guessing you don't work in the prison service, nor have ever been convicted of anything? So I'm assuming, correct me if I'm wrong, that your opinion of the prison service is based on articles you've read? I do work in the prison service. I take great umbrage in hearing it be referred to as "a joke". It IS hard and it IS tough for inmates, but the aim of the prison service is also to rehabilitate and break cycles of crime that were not caused by the justice system.

You're absolutely right, I haven't. It's the attitude of some on this thread about 'other prisoners sorting out this woman' that make me think that the system isn't working. I accept it may be a very small minority but it's always that minority that has the greatest publicity and media spin.

I don't believe that theres' a 'worthiness scale', ie. a person who bashes an elderly person has no business feeling superior to anybody else, no matter what their crime - and ditto for every other prisoner. Each has been found guilty and is imprisoned as a punishment, not to mete our 'justice'.

It's the 'strutting and posturing' I can't stand, LittleWhiteWolf. I'm sorry if you think I was diminishing the prison's role. I thnk it's never been more important and I'm very worried at the way it's going in terms of re-offending and rehabilitation to the point of an ex-offender being able to find work on release. :(

TBH any parent who ends up in prison has massively let down their children, and should look to their own choices and decisions before taking it upon themselves to judged others.

YANBU. It's just too bad the ones who tried to top Luke Mitchell and Peter Tobin failed in their attempts - maybe better luck next time for those two bastards, too.

well, i don't know anything about this case but i do know that prisons are full of people who are mentally ill, so there's no reason to assume that she was/is sane, just because she was sent to prison instead of a hospital.

"The difference is that Sally Clarke was innocent. Theresa Riggi is not."

That is irrelevant. The principle is exactly same. Both women were convicted criminals subjected to abuse at the hands of other convicted criminals. 'Rough justice' is not acceptable.

I don't care if someone's in for TV Licence evasion or mass murder - as far as I'm concerned no-one in prison should be allowed to feel better about themselves by assaulting another human being.

YY FantasticVoyage... in far fewer words than I managed.

In a democratic society it is only the judiciary that has the right to make guilty/not guilty judgements and mete out appropriate punishments. If we extend that right to prisoners so that they can increase her punishment from 16 years to '16 years with torture', why not try to persuade her doctor to deny her medical treatment next time she needs it so that she gets '16 years with torture and no medical care' or wait for her outside the gate and tatoo 'Child killer - punishment given out by Mumnetters' on her forehead?

I agree ohsuzanna What sort of state do you you have to be in to kill your children and then try and kill your self?

Funny isn't it!

Ian Huntley killed 2 girls, he's reviled here. Not many would care about him.

This 'mother' stabs, yes stabs, her 3 children and it's 'poor woman'

And also, sympathy wanes a lot more for women like this when it's smaller toddlers and babies rather than older children.

Having previous experience at work of a woman who gave her 10 year old son class A drugs, got him to go wtih her on thieving missions and then tried to blame everything on him when she got caught, some women actually really don't give a shiny shit about their children.

I hope this woman is tormented by her actions for the rest of her natural life and as such I hope she lives to a ripe old age. I'm glad she didn't suceed in killing herself - death is the easy way out.

OhSuzanna

Of course YABU. The poor woman is ill.

Do you know this for sure? Are you her psychiatrist for example? Now I have no idea whether she is or isnt mentally ill but why the conviction that she has to be "ill" to have stabbed all 3 of her children to death? Is it not a possibility she is just "bad" rather than "mad" - why is it so hard to think about women in these terms?

Duckdodgers... Totally agree!!

and attempting suicide afterwards is not necessarliy a sign that she was ill but could be a sign that she didnt want to face the consequences of her actions.

YABU - the woman stood trial - she recieved a sentence based on the full facts of the case - she is serving that sentence

if you want a different system move to Iran or the USA where they will have state sanctioned murder or beatings - here it is just as ILLEGAL to beat up and harm conviceted murderers as it is to murder children - neither of those is a good thing - hth