Why the fucking fuck is that rapist Ched Evans being released anyway?

[AskBasil]

I thought that in order to get parole, the minimum you had to do was admit that you are actually guilty of the crime for which you've been imprisoned?

But Evans the rapist hasn't admitted that he's a rapist. He keeps saying he's innocent.

So why is he being released?

Is this normal now?

Do all prisoners automatically get early release for good behaviour even if they keep saying they didn't actually do the crime, therefore proving that the one thing that used to be a necessity for early release - remorse - is definitely missing?

If the coronation street actors had been found guilty I doubt they would have gone back on the show

(Not that the film and tv industry is the perfect standard - look at roman Polanski)

I'd be very interested to know how society would view Ched Evans if he had been convicted of raping another man. I mean, I know it's rare, but it does happen.

I have a feeling it would be viewed as a real crime, with a victim, and not some naughty high jinks on a night out.

That's a very good point treacle

This whole case sickens me.

Should he be allowed to return to his job- no shame on Sheffield United.

No difference if he was a teacher, would it be acceptable for him to return to this same job, no.

If the Coronation Street actor wouldn't have come back to the show. However, if after he had been released from prison ITV wanted him back then I don't think legally they could be prevented from doing so.

The truth is some club somewhere will welcome want Ched Evans. The fans will still turn up to watch him, and if he scores the winning goals that gain the club promotion and the millions that go with that, the bad publicity will pale into insignificane.

i don't think itv would want them back, that's what i mean - i'm not talking about the legality of employment after release from prison

i think tv stations would be very wary of employing a convicted rapist because of public reaction. the football club either doesn't seem bothered about public reaction, or there isn't a negative reaction among the club's supporters

Well tbf what has sparked much of the debate is that there has been a petition amongst Sheffield united fans against the club signing him.

I think most football fans rightly acknowledged that this guy is a rapist.
And from what I've seen in discussions amongst football fans is that he has a right to seek employment as a professional footballer (as opposed to having a right to be employed as one) but that they hope that their club doesn't sign him up.

I'm not trying to paint a rosey picture of football though.
There's still a significant minority who claim the conviction is "shaky" or other euphemisms.
And although most fans don't want him at their club they acknowledge that football being football he will be signed by someone as there will be a club who does the checks and balances and decides that his value to their club outstrips the negative.

Maybe because he has served his time under the law of the country

But maybe you lot know better

www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/13/petition-sheffield-united-re-sign-rapist-ched-evans

Sorry should have probably included this in my first post

Apologies so
I was mistaken on the origins of the petition

I first saw it on a football forum urging Sheffield united fans and fans of all clubs to sign in and got the wrong end of the stick.
Thanks for the clarification (not sarcastic, I know that any "thanks" when typed has the potential to look sarcastic)

Can't argue with the rape crisis centre's position at all.

I'd be hugely against any legal bar to him playing professional football but I'd hope that no club would want to touch him.

In the same way I wouldn't think an actor or musician guilty of a similar offence should be banned from ever making another album or movie.
But I'd hope that their crime would be so rightly reviled by society/the public that no studio or label in their right mind would touch them because (even ignoring the moral aspect) from a purely economic position nobody would pay for their product.

i don't know... look at roman polanski

Oh I'm not saying that's how it happens in real life.
More my agreement with the tape crisis centres position.
I while heartedly oppose any legal bar to these people pursuing their chosen career, I'd hope that consumers and employers would think twice before engaging with them.

absolutely, and the employer's responsibility towards other staff is a really good point noted earlier

I think the system of serving part of the sentence in custody and part out under supervision makes sense rather than releasing them with no oversight. When someone is given X years you have to think of that as the total, with some served in the community. Evans will also be on the Sex Offend Register for a long time and will be monitored tightly through that.

Whilst I agree that the sentences for Rape are light, once someone has served their time I don't think they have to be given an opportunity for rehabilitation. To refuse them any job or housing for ever only increases the risk. What we want is for this man never to repeat his crime.