Mr. B withdraws application for release.

national | crime and justice | other press Wednesday July 19, 2006 15:46 by Seán Ryan

Mr. B has withdrawn his application for release, in spite of the fact that the law that jailed him was found unconstitutional. The State has not objected to the withdrawal.

Mr. B has today withdrawn his application for release. Joseph Sherwood was jailed last February for the statutory rape of a girl of 15 in September 2004.(some reports put the girl's age at 14). Joesph is 19. Which means he was 17 when the crime happened, or he was recently turned 18. Part of Joseph's defence had been to claim that sex with the girl had been consensual.

According to new law introduced, Joseph if he were a girl and indeed was 17 when the crime occured would not have been guilty of any offense, irregardless as to whether the act was consensual or not.

The Supreme Court last week when offering its excuses for re-jailing paedophile Mr. A, said that there could be no automatic retrospective effect when a law was found to be unconstitutional. And it found that removing the law did not invalidate convictions gained by the use of it! The Government who have been clutching at straws since the laws regarding statutory rape were found to be unconstitutional last May, have welcomed this piece of dross with open arms. The media by and large have welcomed it too.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=18953...36344
http://www.unison.ie/breakingnews/index.php3?ca=9&si=95295

God help us. And God is dead.