General Chat

Just one more thing from me.
There are people saying let him out so we don't have to pay for his keep anymore.
Does anyone seriously think the taxpayer isn't going to do that wherever he is? He came back from Brazil because he was broke, so I doubt if he has any money since being inside. He will get every benefit going, so he will still cost 'us' till the day he dies.

Hi Maggie :-)

there are many cases we could compare in the legal system which can go either way to support what a harsh/lenient sentence it is. Yes, it was horrendous what that girl had to go through but I don't think we should compare two different crimes from two different eras although it is tempting to do so. They have been tried and judged by peers from 2 different eras.

"So.......Life for stealing money and causing a grown man to suffer headache"

Probably at the time, the violence towards Jack Mills who was struck on the head with an iron bar contributed to the life sentence. Mills never recovered from the attack and didn’t return to work. Although he died of leukemia in 1970, his family maintains that the attack contributed to his poor health.

It's a poor reflection on today's society that his injuries aren't seen as serious by today's standards but obviously to the family of Jack Mills they were. What would have been the outcome if he had died? he could have died quite easily. Personally I wouldn't want to be hit over the head with an Iron bar just so someone wants to live the life of a luxury.

He also fled from justice and lived abroad which may have some bearing on the case.

Re the poor girl, yes, you're right. That sentence was two lenient which as I said is a poor reflection of today's standards, they should have cleared those idiots out of court & charged them with something. No one should have to go through that.

Let's weigh this up - Biggs got life for stealing a lot of money and for the gang severely injuring a man.

Just heard 3 men who repeatedly raped a 16 year old girl with learning difficulties, then threw caustic soda over her, leaving her so badly burned that she can no longer control her body temperature, have been given 4, 6 and 9 years!! and you can't say they 'came upon' the caustic soda - it sounds premeditated to me.
Initially 10 men were arrested - ie they were probably there - but not enough evidence was found against them.

So.......Life for stealing money and causing a grown man to suffer headaches.
Virtually nothing (they'll be out in about 2, 4 and 6 years) for leaving a child severely burned, raped and unable to control her own body temperature, with undoubtedly terrible emotional problems. And. of course they've done it once - what's to stop them doing it again? Not only that, during the trial, there was sniggering and comments from 'friends and family' of the accused.

I think this shows where importance lies in our judiciary. Money - more important than a child's life. And I want to know why nothing was done about the morons in the public gallery who found the assault of this child a laughing matter.

The brains behind it got 10 years and was out by 1979.

Just because other criminals have books/films made about them, doesn't mean it's right for them to profit out of it either.

I suppose the question is.....has he served his time? That I cannot answer.

Just out of interest, what did the others serve?

Hi

Biggs aint the only criminal to take the Whizz out of our weak kneed justice system.
Also he aint the only criminal to have a book or film made about him.
If he has done the time(one way or the other) then he should be freed.

Darklord

I agree with Jean on this one

Ronnie Biggs lived a bloody good lifestyle in Brazil
He has now become a cult figure in British crime
he has had books and films made about him
making him a public celebrity,,,,
In reality he was a small time crook who got an,
invite into the train robbery,,,,,He knew the risks,
IF YOU CANT DO THE TIME, DONT DO THE CRIME
He made a mockery of the law on escaping
so the government will not be to leniant with him now,
As for the train driver,,,,wonder what his family thinks
of it all ?

Ray

Thank you Jean, you said what I have been feeling all day.

I read this on the way to work but didn't get a chance to reply at the time.

Lets not forget that they were criminals, not loveable rogues. (I've seen several people refer to him in this term or something similar) Tell that to the family of the injured train driver who got hurt for purely doing his job. . Fortunately he didn't die....he could have easily done though. Unfortunately he had to live with the consequences and couldn't return to work.

So it may not have been Ronnie who injured him, but did he tell the police who was responsible? In fact I'm sure there were a number of people who knew of these criminals but didn't tell.

It's dishonest people like Ronnie who necessitate us needing more police, it is these 'loveable rogues' who drive up our insurance policies (we are paying for crime every day whether it be to recoup the money that was stolen or pay for security to guard it). Most of us have to pay our hard earned cash to pay for their crimes. Some people pay with their lives,

I just had to say something. I hope I haven't offended anyone by my opinion. However, rather than putting ourselves in the shoes of the criminal and his family, I felt we needed to see things from the victim's point of view.

The debate whether he should be released yet or not is a separate issue. I don't think I know enough about the law or similar cases to make an informed opinion. I don't know either whether he feels sorry/guilty or not. It may be that he has served sufficient time under the law to be released now from his sentence.

I hate the attitude that the great train robbers were lovable rogues. What a load of old tosh. Most of them were career criminals.... they certainly weren't the 'Robin Hoods' of their day stealing from the rich to give to the poor. It was done purely for self gain.

Who was it who paid back the money they stole. Insurance companies....that means you and me.

Jean.

Give him his liberty so he can die with dignity.

OK, he did commit a big crime, but there's worse criminals being released in less time these days.

I know someone who served two years for culpable homocide, even though it was premeditated murder.

thanks all for your views

one of the robbers hung himself he was Buster Edwards

i Still think he should be let out as long as he makes no money selling his story to the press

you only have to see someone living with a head injury to know what a dire impact a whack with an iron bar would have had.
head injuries can stop you enjoying even the most simple daily activities,there is chronic pain to deal with and frustration and mood swings and if they suffered loss of income due to his inability to work then it would have been a double blow to this family.
The reality is Ronnie Biggs didnt do his time because he scarpered,if people are worried about the cost of having him as a prisoner they should encourage the government to pursue the stash of money he and his family will be enjoying and perhaps they could compensate his victims family while they were at it

The goverment of the day made an example and demanded the courts give these men much higher jail terms than was the normally given...it did not stop others..
I agree we should let him free if he goes back to Brazil ( he wont, better care here ).....As some people have said on here what can he do now !

if it saves us a few bob let him go.....Joanie

Actually the man died of Leukemia.

The heist netted the gang £2.6 million and it was noted for its meticulous planning with no guns being used. However, the train driver, Jack Mills, was struck on the head with an iron bar during a struggle. Mills never recovered from the attack and didn’t return to work. Although he died of Leukemia in 1970, his family maintains that the attack contributed to his poor health.


Google it.

Jean i know someone who was told he had 6 months maybe a year to live .
he died 16 years later .
at the end of the day there are worse ppl in this community that briggs .
even on gr there are worse and spitful ppl lol
Rosex

Just got in from work, and have a chance to look at certain threads.

Have to say that I do agree with this tread ,in general.

Biggs was a lovable rogue!.

He has, by one way ,or another, served his time!!

There appear to be others, however, who think, that Mr Biggs has to be sentenced., again.

I agree, with the everyone ,for the most part, and say that Ronald Biggs, has paid the price, for his, former, misgivings.

Gail x
paId

yer i think he should be free.
he cant do any harm to anyone now.
hes paid a price.
garry glitter messed with children and did less time so yer let biggs be free.
Rosex

No I don't think he should be freed.

He escaped and lived the good life in Brazil when he should have been paying for his crime.

When he was eventually recaptured and sent back to prison he said he was dying then, from heart failure, and his son campaigned for him to be freed. Now how many years ago was it when he said he was dying and he's still here.

As a direct result of the actions of the train robbers a man was so severely injured that he was never out of pain again and died an early death.

Leave him where he is.

Jean.

I'm sure I read somewhere that he has suffered from dementia for some time too. IMHO why should I be supporting him through my taxes? He made sure he raised a family in Brazil so that he couldn't be extradited to the UK so let them pay for him, not me.

For the record I have never so much as stolen a sweet off of the pick and mix.

PS There is NO SUCH THING AS A VICTIMLESS CRIME.

Is he now a danger to society ?? No, he's dying

Criminals who are a danger have been let out only to cmmit more crimes and even murder again

The time is right for his release, he cannot do anymore harm and to be brutal it is one less for us taxpayers to pay for

Jessie