The Bright Side to Graham Capill's Soft Sentence

Two positive elements emerge from Graham Capill's sentence of nine years for rape in the Christchurch District Court today.

On the one hand, he will not serve a full term in prison. He will be placed in a special unit for sex offenders to protect him from the rest of the inmate community, and be eligible for home detention after three years. Which is a shame, really. Such an odious figure deserves to have the bejeezus pummeled out of him while he's in jail. Vigilante justice isn't always a good solution, but it's far more just than the velvety gloves that will envelope him in the sex offenders' unit.

The gentleness with which this manipulative paedophile has been treated is not, however, the whole story. Graham Capill lead a cult church, and a cult political movement, for the last twenty years. He is used to having people pawn and preen over him. He has been pampered and indulged by all those around him, who never threatened to challenge him. That is how he managed to get away with his predatory sex offending for fifteen years.

Even in the molly-coddled environment of prison life among other child abusers and rapists, Capill will face different hardships. His creepy moral indignation, which he wore like a string of war medals, is dead. And so is everything that Capill ever stood for. His life work is destroyed.

Capill is now the epitome of human frailty. A pathetic character who preached personal responsibility, while refusing to face up to his own demons. Like the school bully who is confronted by his actions, Capill is a coward. The most telling sight was his whimpering after taking a biff outside the District Court earlier this year. Blabbering like a child, the sight of him bawling gave us all some hope. Made me want to get in there and punch him out: not because it would give justice to his victims, but because he's such a pissant, pathetic creature who needs his spinelessness beaten out of him.

The reality is that Graham Capill won't physically survive three months in prison, let alone three years. He doesn't have the moral courage to stomach it. In the sense that for all intents and purposes, it is a life sentence for him, the sentence is fair.

The second point, however, is the hypocrisy of the Government ignoring overwhelming public calls for stiffer prison terms. It is this Government's policy to release non-violent criminals after a third of their sentence. That does not sit easily with voters, and if National needed an opportunity to come out firing with their tough line on criminals, Graham Capill's sentence is the perfect opportunity. And while the politically correct, liberal pinko commies in Government will claim that they're listening, the three years for Graham Capill speaks for itself.

And it's not good enough for Government to blame the judiciary. They will try, of course. But as long as Parliament offers the judiciary discretion with respect to violent and sexual crimes, the judiciary will respond with leniency. Parliament's only response is to remove eligibility for parole for violent and sexual offenders, and ensure that criminals actually serve the sentence that communities demand are imposed.

Labour submits itself to the liberal agenda, which panders to the the most destructive elements in society and allows them to literally get away with murder. And precious middle New Zealand will blame Labour for being soft on crime. Thanks to Capill, that has made the treatment of criminals one of the lightening rods for this election.

It wasn't the way he intended to make his mark in politics, but finally Capill has achieved something remarkable.