Woman (19) put in jail over dog leash fine

DonJose

The Irish courts give out suspended sentences to child molesting priests, killers, drink drivers, drug dealers and every other scumbag yet they sentence a girl to 5 days in prison for not paying a fine for walking a dog without lease. WTF :eek:

"A 19-YEAR-OLD woman spent two nights in jail after failing to pay a fine imposed for walking her dog without a leash.

Gardai told Amy O'Driscoll that she would only spend an hour in Mountjoy Prison when she was brought there last Wednesday, but ended up spending two days in prison.

Ms O'Driscoll was arrested last week on foot of a penal warrant because she had not paid a €500 fine after a dog warden seized her pet near her home in Finglas, north Dublin, in November 2007.

Ms O'Driscoll had missed her court appearance because she was out of the country, and was unable to pay the fine and legal costs.

Last week she got a letter saying she had been sentenced to five days in prison.

"It's outrageous, but it appears to be something that is becoming increasingly common," local Sinn Fein councillor Dessie Ellis said yesterday.

Mr Ellis, who is a family friend, spent two days last week trying to get the "terrified" young woman out of Mountjoy.

She was granted temporary release on Friday, after spending her time in a medical cell, where her fellow inmates included two heroin addicts.

Ms O'Driscoll said the experience was the worst of her life."

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/woman-19-put-in-jail-over-dog-leash-fine-1690822.html

Sam Vimes

Serves her right. Everyone's slipped up and killed someone once or twice but walking her dog without a leash!!!! Scum:mad:

Hail 2 Da Chimp

DonJose wrote: »

Mr Ellis, who is a family friend, spent two days last week trying to get the "terrified" young woman out of Mountjoy.

That's the way it always goes... Once they get there they never want to leave!

seamus

Woman gets fined, doesn't pay it, spends time in jail.

Where's the outrage here? She broke the law, she failed to obey the direction of the court, so she went to jail. Nothing has failed or gone wrong here, in fact everything has gone right.

Ms O'Driscoll said the experience was the worst of her life.

Which means she won't forget to pay the next fine. Rehabilitation complete. A success for the justice system.

Hagar

She didn't go to jail for not having her dog on a leash let's be clear about that, she failed to pay the fine imposed by the courts. People cannot be allowed to ignore court rulings. Hanging's to good for her etc etc.

Mr.Lizard

Didn't pay the fine, missed the court date. Regardless of walking the dog without a leash, I'm guessing she wasn't the most desireable member of society to begin with.

Xavi6

Yeah but was she hot?

artielange

Wasn't it the dublin dog wardens the ones that were making 40k and only ticketed 100 plus people between the 2 of them?

javaboy

Hagar wrote: »

Hanging's to good for her etc etc.

To paraphrase the wicked witch of the West, "And her little dog too!" Castration* in his case though I reckon.




*seriously. It's nicer to neuter.:)

peasant

Surely it would have been easier and cheaper to send round the bailiffs and confiscate some of her stuff (telly and the likes) in lieu of payment?

javaboy

peasant wrote: »

Surely it would have been easier and cheaper to send round the bailiffs and confiscate some of her stuff (telly and the likes) in lieu of payment?

Is it a sign that I spent too much time on my arse watching Paramount comedy that I thought you were going to talk about Lombard direct just there?

Cianos

DonJose wrote: »

Gardai told Amy O'Driscoll that she would only spend an hour in Mountjoy Prison when she was brought there last Wednesday, but ended up spending two days in prison.

Is it possible to be sentenced to just an hour in prison? I'd spend an hour in prison just to see what it's like and to be able to tell people I've been to prison.:pac:

Mr.Lizard

Cianos wrote: »

Is it possible to be sentenced to just an hour in prison? I'd spend an hour in prison just to see what it's like and to be able to tell people I've been to prison.:pac:

Yeah right you would. One hour in prison and they'd already have raped your bottom and stolen your sweeties.

Wagon

seamus wrote: »

Woman gets fined, doesn't pay it, spends time in jail.

Yeah i agree, but i reckon what really pisses people off is the fact that the courts took the time to send someone to Mountjoy for not having their dog on a leash while there's still people getting suspended sentences for far worse crimes. Couldn't be arsed digging for them but there's been plenty. We pay our taxes and this is how it's spent, putting people in jail for not walking their dog correctly. I wouldn't call it a failure either, but it certainly highlights the shortcomings fo the system. Again.

Also, the paper said she was out of the country. Could she not have postponed the court date if she had plans made for a holiday or something? It's not a serious offense to begin with. And 500 euro for not having your dog on a leash is pretty ridiculous.

Sam Vimes

seamus wrote: »

Woman gets fined, doesn't pay it, spends time in jail.

Where's the outrage here? She broke the law, she failed to obey the direction of the court, so she went to jail. Nothing has failed or gone wrong here, in fact everything has gone right.
Which means she won't forget to pay the next fine. Rehabilitation complete. A success for the justice system.

The outrage is in the uneven application of the law. If they're going to send someone to jail for a minor offence then rapists shouldn't really be getting suspended sentences

kmick

Lesson 1 - Turn up in court
Lesson 2 - Pay your fine
Lesson 3 - Tell them your dog would suffer FGM if forced to wear a leash.

mickoneill30

Sam Vimes wrote: »

The outrage is in the uneven application of the law. If they're going to send someone to jail for a minor offence then rapists shouldn't really be getting suspended sentences

Are rapists generally getting suspended sentences? The only case I know about was a couple of years ago by some idiot judge (and then the guy got his suspended sentence revoked for throwing a cigarette at the victim).

Any other cases?

ShooterSF

artielange wrote: »

Wasn't it the dublin dog wardens the ones that were making 40k and only ticketed 100 plus people between the 2 of them?

We need dog wardens to enforce the law but we don't need wardens (any type) who have quotas to fulfill. If someone breaks the law fair enough.

Kipperhell

Sam Vimes wrote: »

The outrage is in the uneven application of the law. If they're going to send someone to jail for a minor offence then rapists shouldn't really be getting suspended sentences

The minor offences of disobeying the court and failing to turn up to your court date? These aren't minor offences, the initial reason may be minor. She sounds like loads of people who get caught for something and then says I'm not going to pay the fine what can they do! She found out.

They should work out a better system such as pay deductions rather than jail but for people who have little money what can you do? I would like to see weighted fines.

Mr.Lizard

Rabble rabble!

seamus

Sam Vimes wrote: »

The outrage is in the uneven application of the law. If they're going to send someone to jail for a minor offence then rapists shouldn't really be getting suspended sentences

Contempt of court is not a minor offence and deserves custodial sentences because if someone refuses to obey the court, how can we expect them to live in a civil society under the rules which that court applies?

redout

Proper order I say. Hope it thought her not to break the law again. ffs who is she to complain ? She deliberately broke the bloody law !

javaboy

kmick wrote: »

Lesson 3 - Tell them your dog would suffer FGM if forced to wear a leash.

As I said earlier, it's nicer to neuter.

Sam Vimes

mickoneill30 wrote: »

Are rapists generally getting suspended sentences? The only case I know about was a couple of years ago by some idiot judge (and then the guy got his suspended sentence revoked for throwing a cigarette at the victim).

Any other cases?

That's the one I was thinking of too. That's the only case of a rapist getting off that I've seen but I see in the news every day serious offenders getting pathetically light sentences

Kipperhell wrote: »

The minor offences of disobeying the court and failing to turn up to your court date? These aren't minor offences, the initial reason may be minor. She sounds like loads of people who get caught for something and then says I'm not going to pay the fine what can they do! She found out.

I agree with you. She should have been sent to jail but if she's getting a sentence then so should so many other people.

truecrippler

Sam Vimes wrote: »

The outrage is in the uneven application of the law. If they're going to send someone to jail for a minor offence then rapists shouldn't really be getting suspended sentences

Indeed, I think everyone misinterpreted the OP thread. Sure she should have paid the fine and well spending time is what she gets then thats tough. But the fact that people who are genuinely scum; rapists, murderers etc can sometimes get off with such easy penalties.

Sam Vimes

seamus wrote: »

Contempt of court is not a minor offence and deserves custodial sentences because if someone refuses to obey the court, how can we expect them to live in a civil society under the rules which that court applies?

I'm not saying she shouldn't have been sent to jail, I'm saying that so many other people who are far more deserving of jail (or very heavy sentences) than her are not getting justice. How can we expect someone to live in a civil society if they have 80 convictions and are still getting slapped on the hand?

CreepingDeath

I noticed they didn't say what type of dog it was.

If it was a rottweiler or pitbull, people wouldn't have as much sympathy for her. Or if is was a public park and the dog was acting aggressively.

If you ever catch that program "The dog whisperer", there's plenty of dysfunctional and aggressive dogs out there.
Someone may have made a genuine compliant against her and her dog.

ShooterSF

CreepingDeath wrote: »

I noticed they didn't say what type of dog it was.

If it was a rottweiler or pitbull, people wouldn't have as much sympathy for her. Or if is was a public park and the dog was acting aggressively.

If you ever catch that program "The dog whisperer", there's plenty of dysfunctional and aggressive dogs out there.
Someone may have made a genuine compliant against her and her dog.

They wouldn't share their Kia-Ora?

Slow Motion

I'm sorry but to those who say she broke the law, proper order, I say that is complete and utter bollox! What about the option to extend the chance to pay the fine? Community service? Prison is way out of order in relation to the offence!

I know of one person who has been in court at least 5 times for various offences including assault on a Garda and a foreign student and has not spent 1 day inside despite breaking the conditions of bail more than once.

What we are talking about here is the unfair application of prison sentences in relation to the crime commited, there were plenty of other things that could have been done without resorting to a custodial sentence!

redout

CreepingDeath wrote: »

I noticed they didn't say what type of dog it was.

If it was a rottweiler or pitbull, people wouldn't have as much sympathy for her. Or if is was a public park and the dog was acting aggressively.

If you ever catch that program "The dog whisperer", there's plenty of dysfunctional and aggressive dogs out there.
Someone may have made a genuine compliant against her and her dog.

It was Lassie.......

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mickoneill30

Slow Motion wrote: »

I'm sorry but to those who say she broke the law, proper order, I say that is complete and utter bollox! What about the option to extend the chance to pay the fine? Community service? Prison is way out of order in relation to the offence!

Absolutely. Prison was option 2. Option 1 was pay the fine. She didn't take the first punishment. Should the courts keep on giving punishment until the person chooses which one to do.

1: Pay a fine.
2: If you don't do that then go back to court and extend the timeframe for the fine.
3: If you still don't pay then go back to court and get community service.
4: If you don't do that then go back to court and get Prison.

If it happened to me I'd choose option 2 every time. So would everybody else.

Are courts free now? Should the taxpayer keep on paying whatever it costs because people don't want to take their punishment.

What the courts need to do is cop on to the guys who are getting around the system. Not just make it more lenient for lesser offenders. The fine was the punishment. Nothing major. She didn't pay that and got a couple of days in prison. She had the option of paying the fine. It was her choice not to.