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Gen X dad’s odd punishment for four-year-old son sparks debate

<p dir="ltr">A self-proclaimed Gen X dad has sparked a furious debate after a video clip of him punishing his four-year-old son went viral on TikTok.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wisconsin-based dad Derek Longstreth said he had no other choice but to make his young son, Truman, heave massive jugs of water across the yard because he hit his mum.</p> <p dir="ltr">“All right little man, let's go, you've got all these jugs to carry,” he told his son, as he showed five water jugs.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He hit his mom today, so, spanking is out of the question because you liberals made it so we can’t spank our children any more,” he explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">The father-of-one recorded his son struggling to carry the water jugs, but offered him words of encouragement as the boy tried to carry it across the yard.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Let's go, young man. I love you just so you know, but you're not going to hit your mom,” he said. “You can do it. I love you son but we don't hit women in this family.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Longstreth then explained why he chose to punish his son this way, and said that spanking your child is not allowed in Wisconsin.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He's four. We're not allowed to spank in the state of Wisconsin because some liberals are saying there are better ways.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“'Well liberals, what's the better way?”</p> <div><iframe title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7256440921728863530&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40hamburgerjones23%2Fvideo%2F7256440921728863530&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fp19-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast5-p-0068-tx%2Fc29492b9251f41139161e469b64b4d0e%3Fx-expires%3D1689789600%26x-signature%3DRnuVqM3A6bo1miOskT3JdYiBlWA%253D&amp;key=5b465a7e134d4f09b4e6901220de11f0&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">After the father complained about the liberals, he continued to try and teach Truman a lesson, despite the child complaining that he “can’t do it” multiple times throughout the video.</p> <p dir="ltr">At the end of the clip, Longstreth asks his son: “Are you going to hit your mom again?”</p> <p dir="ltr">“No,” the four-year-old responded.</p> <p dir="ltr">Longstreth also made his son apologise for hitting his mum.</p> <p dir="ltr">The nine-minute clip has racked up over 1.9 million views, while many applauded the father for his “gentle” ways of parenting and disciplining his son, others slammed him for “abuse”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Big respect to this dad. He gave the kid a hard job with encouragement and reassurance that he loves him as well as why the kid had to do it,” wrote one person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is honestly probably the best and most effective way to discipline your child. Every moment they do this they are thinking about what they did,” commented another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Good dad, raising his son right, teaching him to never lay his hands on any women especially his momma. Very good,” agreed a third.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is like so gentle yet so disciplining in all the good ways,” wrote a fourth.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, other viewers disagreed with the father’s method.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is abuse.... I said what I said. I'm sorry he hit his mom though, talking it out is fine. He's too little for this,” commented one person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Lol. When people ask what the next traumas will be, it’ll be every moment being a phone in their face. Did you need to post this? Pathetic,” wrote another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You don't want him to associate work as punishment. how about no tv, no sweets, something that is usually a privilege. work is something that is good,” added another user.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

Family & Pets

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If cities don’t want homeless encampments they should help people, not punish them

<p>This summer, homeless encampments in cities such as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tents-structures-downtown-eastside-vancouver-removal-1.6545853" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vancouver</a> and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-14/in-a-vacant-lot-in-watts-a-homeless-camp-gets-swept-away-by-l-a-along-with-the-brush" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> and <a href="https://www.coastreporter.net/in-the-community/homeless-camp-on-toredo-street-dismantled-police-report-5325829" target="_blank" rel="noopener">others</a> were dismantled.</p> <p>The reasons varied. In Vancouver, it was fire hazard concerns on Hastings Street, a major artery in the Downtown Eastside, where the encampment had sprung up over several blocks.</p> <p>In Los Angeles, the encampment was on city-owned land intended for other uses. There, officials have gone even further to curtail encampments, with the city council <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/tension-boil-at-la-city-council-meeting-over-controversial-homeless-encampment-ban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approving a ban</a> on homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centres.</p> <p>Encampments of those experiencing homelessness have become a fixture in large cities as well as smaller communities. It should not be surprising that people who are unsheltered seek out the relative security, community and resources encampments can provide.</p> <p>Yet, the ineffective, and often punitive, responses by various levels of government are alarming. These policy failures are most evident in the troubling encampment evictions occurring across North America.</p> <p>More than <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/homelessness-101/how-many-people-are-homeless-canada" target="_blank" rel="noopener">235,000 people are estimated to be homeless in Canada</a>. In addition to these visibly homeless, another <a href="https://www.acto.ca/production/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Factsheet-4-Homelessness-in-Canada-and-Ontario2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">450,000 to 900,000 are among the “hidden” homeless</a>: those staying with family and friends because they have nowhere to live.</p> <p><strong>Policing not the answer</strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.canadahousingcrisis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our country has a housing crisis</a>. Homelessness results from a severe shortage of affordable housing, poverty and insufficient support services. For people who end up homeless, it is a tortuous and difficult route.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="A group of people stand in front of a brown building carrying a banner that reads: where are we supposed to go?" /></a><figcaption><em><span class="caption">A woman addresses the crowd during a protest against Vancouver’s removal of a homeless encampment on the sidewalks in the Downtown Eastside, August 16, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></em></figcaption></figure> <p>For many, their path to living on the streets starts with childhood trauma, mental health issues and substance misuse. For others, in low paying jobs with no savings or family support, they can be one pay cheque away from homelessness. Regardless of how they end up homeless, people deserve to be treated with dignity and understanding.</p> <p>Instead, shockingly, police have been carting away belongings from encampments, leaving people with few options of where to stay, other than another street or park. Even worse, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tents-structures-downtown-eastside-vancouver-removal-1.6545853" target="_blank" rel="noopener">evictions have turned violent</a>.</p> <p>Los Angeles is not the only city that has tried to enforce bans on people sleeping in public space with so-called vagrancy by-laws. When Victoria tried to enforce city by-laws to that effect in 2005, homeless people took the city to court. The B.C. Supreme Court sided with the unhoused people, <a href="https://commons.allard.ubc.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1358&amp;context=fac_pubs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying that it was an infringement of their rights</a>.</p> <p>A similar court decision occurred in 2021 when residents of a <a href="https://nst.ca/win-for-homeless-residents-of-crab-park-vancouver/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CRAB Park encampment</a> in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside challenged an injunction by the Vancouver Parks Board forcing an eviction. Elsewhere in British Columbia, the city of Prince George was <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/prince-george-apologizes-homeless-1.6396206" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forced to apologize</a> for the trauma it caused by destroying part of an encampment even though a judge ruled that the encampment must remain because there is not enough adequate accessible housing in the city to justify its closure.</p> <p>Dismantling encampments has a dire impact on people’s lives. It severs social relationships, causes stress, and increases fear and distrust of authorities. It dehumanizes unhoused populations even more.</p> <p><strong>Long-term solutions needed</strong></p> <p>It is clear that dismantling encampments is not the answer. Some people, even if they have been provided with shelter, will opt for encampments. In other cases, which occurred in Vancouver this summer, there was no shelters or other housing available. And in previous encampment evictions, some residents were offered <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/majority-people-moved-strathcona-park-1.6009673" target="_blank" rel="noopener">substandard SRO housing</a>, the same kind of housing some were fleeing when they opted for living on the streets.</p> <p>By-laws and practices which target activities like sleeping on streets, parks or in cars and panhandling <a href="https://www.nlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Overview-of-Homeless-Encampments-Brief.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criminalize individuals</a>. And the consequences of criminalizing homelessness disproportionately falls on racialized people. Marginalized communities often face discrimination in accessing housing and other services which is compounded if they have a criminal record due to homelessness.</p> <p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220314/dq220314b-eng.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ten per cent of the off-reserve First Nation and Inuit populations</a> have experienced homelessness in Canada. In 2020, the last year that a <a href="https://council.vancouver.ca/20201007/documents/pspc1presentation.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homeless count was conducted in Vancouver</a>, 39 per cent of the city’s homeless population was Indigenous even though they comprise two per cent of the total population.</p> <p>People who identified as Black, Hispanic and Arab were also significantly over-represented compared to their percentage of the general population.</p> <p>As the federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle said in a September visit to Vancouver’s homeless encampments, “<a href="https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/09/08/Housing-System-Failed-Everyone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the housing system has failed everyone there</a>.” Homeless encampments have become a last resort because of lack of better housing alternatives. The <a href="https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/en/resources/unsafe-conditions-people-experiencing-homelessness-a-pressing-human-rights-issue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shelter system</a> is overcrowded and too restrictive for many people.</p> <p>But sanctioning encampments should not be the only solution. Encampments can be unsafe and dangerous places, and provide little opportunity for moving out of homelessness. We need a holistic approach to ending homelessness that addresses the reasons for homelessness.</p> <p>For those who fall into homelessness out of economic necessity we need more plentiful affordable rental housing, rental assistance and stronger rent controls to ensure that renters’ rights are upheld. For those struggling with multiple health and substance issues, we need more <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/solutions/transitional-housing/permanent-supportivesupported-housing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supportive housing</a>.</p> <p>For Indigenous people experiencing homelessness we need more, better funded, and culturally appropriate housing and services. For those ending up in encampments we need to ensure, at the very least, that their <a href="https://www.make-the-shift.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/A-National-Protocol-for-Homeless-Encampments-in-Canada.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rights are upheld</a>.</p> <p>Homeless encampments are not going to go away any time soon. The federal government has already declared housing to be a human right. We must work to end homelessness now.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192133/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; background-color: #ffffff;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Written by Penny Gurstein. Republished with permission of <a style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #258440; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" href="https://theconversation.com/if-cities-dont-want-homeless-encampments-they-should-help-people-not-punish-them-192133" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; background-color: #ffffff;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Real Estate

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Peddlers of fake news to be punished by Facebook

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">People sharing false or misleading information on Facebook could soon be penalised.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The social media giant has announced it will be cracking down on fake news by doling out harsher punishments for individual accounts repeatedly sharing misinformation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Under the new rules, Facebook will “reduce the distribution of all posts” from people guilty of doing this to make it harder for their content to be seen by other users.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though this already happens for Pages and Groups that post misinformation, it hasn’t extended that to individuals until now.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook does limit the reach of posts made by individual users that have been flagged by fact-checkers, but the new policy will act as a broader penalty for account holders sharing misinformation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, Facebook has not specified how many times a user’s posts will have to be flagged before they are punished.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The company will also start showing users pop-messages if they click the “like” button of a page that frequently shares misinformation to alert users that fact-checkers have previously flagged posts from the page.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This will help people make an informed decision about whether they want to follow the Page,” the company wrote on a blog post.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The rules are the company’s latest effort to curb fake news. This comes after Facebook has continued to struggle with controlling the rumours and misleading posts from nearly 3 billion users, despite creating dedicated information hubs for topics such as the pandemic and climate change to present users with reliable information.</span></p>

Legal

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Absolutely devastated: Man's punishment for 5-year-old turns fatal

<p>A man has been arrested after his attempt to discipline his fiancé’s son took a turn for the worst.</p> <p>The soldier in the US state of Alabama was charged with reckless murder after he allegedly forced his girlfriend’s five-year-old son to get out of a car at night along a road.</p> <p>The young child died when he was struck by a vehicle.</p> <p>Army Sgt Bryan Starr, 35, went on to surrender himself to Russell County sheriffs after he was charged with 5-year-old Austin Birdseye’s death.</p> <p>Starr admitted to investigators that the boy began acting up in the car as they travelled on a highway near their home Sunday night.</p> <p>He went on to punish the boy by pulling his vehicle over into a church parking lot and making the boy stand outside in the rain.</p> <p>The child’s mother was not in the vehicle, he added.</p> <p>Starr lost sight of Austin but knew something was wrong when cars stopped in the middle of the road, as there the little boy had been struck by an oncoming Toyota Avalon.</p> <p>Sheriff Heath Taylor said the road was dark and the driver who struck him is not at fault, in a press conference on Monday.</p> <p>“We have their information and we’ve spoken to them and will speak to them again. But at this point, there’s no indication that they had any chance of not hitting the little guy,” Taylor said,<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/crime/article247505815.html" target="_blank"> as reported by the Ledger-Enquirer</a>.</p> <p>The child died in hospital and Starr was charged with murder because he showed reckless disregard for the child’s safety, police said.</p> <p>An online campaign that was created to raise funds for Austin’s death said the little boy often sang loud “at the top of his lungs” to songs but the sheriff says he still could not understand his would-have been stepfathers’ actions.</p> <p>“What do you say to that? What is your thought process when you tell a five-year-old to get out of the car on a rainy night, because they were being loud in the car?” he said.</p> <p>“It’s just heartbreaking.”</p> <p>The GoFundMe set up to support the family has far eclipsed its $5,000 target.</p> <p>“Austin was always the centre of any impromptu living room dance party, the wonderful little boy who would chat about almost anything and with anyone in the grocery store, was the one who knew all the words to every song,” the page says.</p> <p>“He was always loving and never let any opportunity pass him by to enjoy fun. We are absolutely devastated by Austin’s passing.”</p>

Legal

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Five punishments past and present for jurors who fall foul of the law

<p>Jurors in England and Wales have come under repeated criticism in recent years for the ways they’ve carried out their duties. In late March, a jury member at Carlisle Crown Court <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-43490590">was fined £1,000</a> for playing on his phone during a trial in what the judge described as “blatant contempt of court”. In November 2017, a jury was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-42100936">dismissed</a> at Winchester Crown Court after what one newspaper described as <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/23/parachute-trial-jury-discharged-failing-reach-verdict/">“an extraordinary row”</a> between judge and jury. Some jurors have <a href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/juror-who-took-role-seriously-13616425">even been imprisoned</a> for carrying out illicit research into the case before them.</p> <p>In the past there were a number of ways to punish jurors – some of which still stand today.</p> <p><strong>Attaint</strong></p> <p>In medieval England, if it was suspected that a jury of 12 had returned an inaccurate verdict in a civil trial, the case could be reheard by a 24-strong jury. If the second jury disagreed with the first jury’s verdict, the first jury would be punished. This procedure was <a href="https://www.academia.edu/33924828/Before_the_Criminal_Justice_and_Courts_Act_2015_Juror_Punishment_in_Nineteenth-and_Twentieth-Century_England_2016_36_2_Legal_Studies_179">called the attaint</a>.</p> <p>Initially, punishment under the attaint meant imprisonment and the destruction of the jurors’ homes and lands, although by the end of the 15th century this had been replaced with perpetual infamy and a fine. The attaint never seems to have been used on criminal juries, and by the end of the 16th century it seems to have stopped being used even in civil trials. The system was formally abolished in 1825.</p> <p><strong>Embracery</strong></p> <p>Chief Justice Vaughan famously <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushel%27s_Case">ruled</a> in 1670 that jurors could not be punished simply for returning a verdict which the trial judge disagreed with. He was happy to punish jurors in some circumstances, however, having convicted two jurors of “embracery” the previous year.</p> <p>Embracery occurred where threats or bribes were used in order to encourage jurors to return a favourable verdict. It was an offence both to try to “embrace” a juror and to be “embraced” when actually serving as a juror.</p> <p>One embracer was convicted as late as 1975, although the Court of Appeal complained that a simple charge of contempt of court would have been better. This stopped any further prosecutions for embracery, and the offence was <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/23/section/17">formally abolished in 2010</a>.</p> <p><strong>Perverting the course of justice</strong></p> <p>Perverting the course of justice as a juror is a broader offence than embracery, but it works in a similar way. It’s possible both for the person interfering with a jury, and for a juror who accepts a bribe or is otherwise compromised, to be punished. The offence still exists today, but prosecutions of jurors for perverting the course of justice have always been rare.</p> <p>As recently as 2011, the Court of Appeal <a href="http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/format.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/1629.html">made reference</a> to the option of prosecuting jurors under this offence where a juror had been communicating with a defendant, but judges seemed satisfied with the more conventional charge of contempt of court made against the juror.</p> <p><strong>Contempt of court – and new offences</strong></p> <p>Contempt of court is a broadly defined offence, consisting essentially of anything which undermines the authority of the court. A famous example of jurors punished for contempt came in 1670, when several jurors – including their foreman, Edward Bushel – were imprisoned for refusing to convict a pair of Quaker preachers. The Court of Common Pleas, ruling in Bushel’s case, held that juror punishment in these circumstances was unlawful. But the fact that judges could not longer punish jurors simply for returning verdicts with which the judges disagreed doesn’t mean that jurors are completely protected from contempt proceedings today.</p> <p>In recent years, several jurors have <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-16676871">been imprisoned for contempt</a> after disobeying clear judicial instructions not to go online in order to find additional evidence in the cases they are trying.</p> <p>In 2015, four <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/2/part/3/crossheading/juries-and-members-of-the-court-martial/enacted">new criminal offences were created</a> relating to independent research done by jurors. These new offences were intended to “send a message” to potential jurors that the government takes juror misconduct very seriously. It is now a criminal offence – triable by jury – for anyone acting as a juror to:</p> <ul> <li>Research the case they are trying as a juror.</li> <li>Disclose the product of any such research to a fellow juror.</li> <li>Act in any other way which demonstrates an intention to reach a conclusion based on something other than the evidence presented in court.</li> <li>Solicit or disclose the details of the jury’s deliberations to people who were not on the jury.</li> </ul> <p>In September 2017, the foreman of a jury <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/juror-who-took-role-seriously-13616425">was sentenced to four months’</a> imprisonment after going online to research some of the details of the case he was trying.</p> <p><strong>Rebukes from the bench</strong></p> <p>Beyond these formal kinds of punishment which are still possible, it’s also possible for judges to simply rebuke their jurors. In 1917, a group of jurors were kept in a state of <a href="https://www.academia.edu/33924828/Before_the_Criminal_Justice_and_Courts_Act_2015_Juror_Punishment_in_Nineteenth-and_Twentieth-Century_England_2016_36_2_Legal_Studies_179">virtual imprisonment</a> after a falling out with their judge. They were told they would never serve on another jury, but that they must still report for jury service for several weeks, on pain of punishment under the contempt laws if they failed to attend.</p> <p>In the case in November 2017, the jury at Winchester Crown Court was warned that they should not bully each other during their deliberations. Before they were discharged, they <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/23/jury-dismissed-in-trial-of-man-emile-cilliers-accused-of-tampering-with-wifes-parachute">wrote a note</a> to the court, complaining that:</p> <p>But while these jurors might feel slighted, at least they did not have to face formal sanctions. As the trial judge explained to them, it was his responsibility to keep an eye on any misconduct, and to find some way to “flush it out”.</p> <p><em>Written by Kevin Crosby. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-punishments-past-and-present-for-jurors-who-fall-foul-of-the-law-88432">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

Legal

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“God is speaking to you”: Israel Folau preaches that bushfires and drought are God’s punishment for abortion and same-sex marriage

<p>Israel Folau has caused further outrage by suggesting that the current bushfires and drought that is ravaging Australia is God’s punishment for legalising same-sex marriage and abortion.</p> <p>Folau spoke at The Truth of Jesus Christ Church in Kenshurt, north west of Sydney.</p> <p>“The message I mainly want to speak about today is mainly for the people who are outside within the world,” he began. “I’ve been looking around at the events that have been happening around Australia in the last couple of weeks with the bushfires and the droughts and all these things that are currently happening.”</p> <p>"I'm doing this out of love for people to be able to hear this message and receive it with open hearts."</p> <p>He said that Australians could solve the problems within the country by repealing these laws.</p> <p>"I am speaking to Australia - they have changed this law and changed the ordinance," he said.</p> <p>"They have changed that law and legalised same-sex marriage and now those things are okay in society, going against the laws of what God says.</p> <p>“Abortion - it's okay now to murder and kill infants, unborn children, and they deem that to be okay,” he continued.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F592277641115135%2Fvideos%2F528446637884157%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=267" width="267" height="476" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>"This scripture is speaking to Australia. You have changed the law and changed the ordinance. Look how rapid these bushfires, these droughts, all these things that came in a short period time.</p> <p>"You think it's a coincidence or not? God is speaking to you guys, Australia, you need to repent and you need to take these laws and turn it back to following what is right by God, what God says in his word."</p> <p>Many people have been outraged by his comments, as four people have died in NSW alone and bushfires continue to threaten homes in NSW and QLD.</p> <p>However, Folau warned that the worst is yet to come.</p> <p>"What you see out there in the world, it's only a little taste of what God's judgment is like," he said.</p> <p>"The news now are saying that these bushfires are the worst they've ever seen in Australia - they haven’t even seen anything."</p> <p>Longtime supporter and 2GB radio host Alan Jones is usually a fan of Folau, but has quickly urged him to “button up”.</p> <p>“Israel is a lovely human being, I know him well. Israel, button up. Button up.</p> <p>“These comments don’t help.”</p>

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Dad’s punishment for “bully” son divides internet

<p>A dad’s decision to punish his 10-year-old son by making him run almost two kilometres to his school after he was kicked off the bus for bullying other children is dividing opinions.</p> <p>Bryan Thornhill, from Virginia in the US, posted a video to his Facebook page showing his son running to school in the rain.</p> <p>He says in his video: "Hey everyone, welcome to you better listen to your Dad 2018. My son has finally got in trouble on the bus enough to where he was kicked off the bus for three days because he was being a little bully which I do not tolerate, can't stand.</p> <p>"Therefore, he has to now run to school. We're right about one mile (1.6kms) from the school so all week he's got the experience of running.</p> <p>"The good news is guys he keeps up a pretty good mile pace, six miles an hour so far. Yesterday he was apparently a little rude for Michelle in the morning, so even though it's raining this morning he still gets to run.</p> <p>"I just wanted to show everybody and give you a good little laugh."</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fganglandbible%2Fvideos%2F1561967033914451%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=269" width="269" height="476" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>Bryan adds that he has been told his son's behaviour has in fact improved at school and he has been "much better".</p> <p>"He hasn't got in trouble at school this week, whereas last week he was absolutely out of his mind. This right here is just old-school, simple parenting," he said.</p> <p>"This ain't killing nobody, this is a healthy way for a child to be punished, because it's exercise.</p> <p>"Teach your child a lesson. You don't have to kill 'em, you don't always have to beat 'em.</p> <p>"Sometimes it sucks for them, and that's what teaches them."</p> <p>The video has been viewed millions of times already with many agreeing with the father’s punishment.</p> <p>"Way to go," one person wrote. "Great job Daddy!!! If we had more parents parenting, this world would be a much better place," another said.</p> <p>"I wish there were more parents like you! Keep up the great work."</p> <p>However, there were many who also disagreed with his approach.</p> <p>One person noted that while they felt the punishment may fit the crime, they didn't agree with recording the result to show everyone.</p> <p>"The fact of recording it and showing it to world is so unnecessary. Have you ever thought maybe there is a reason he’s being a bully? Maybe something's going on with him," the person commented.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

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School punishes girl for shaving her head for charity

<p>A 14-year-old schoolgirl has been put in isolation following her decision to shave her head for charity.</p> <p>Niamh Baldwin was punished by Mounts Bay Academy in Cornwall, UK, after shaving her head for the Little Princess Trust, an organisation that makes wigs out of human hair for children undergoing cancer treatment.</p> <p>However, when she returned to school after Christmas holidays Niamh was told she would be removed from classes and required to wear a headscarf until her hair grew back to a suitable length, reported Cornwall Live.</p> <p>Her mother Anneka Baldwin expressed her anger on Facebook about the consequences of her “courageous” daughter’s decision.</p> <p>"Niamh has always had outstanding reports and feedback from all her teachers and everyone I know she meets always say she is an amazingly polite and lovely girl!," she wrote.</p> <p>"This doesn't change because of a hairstyle and to me it is discrimination!"</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="424" height="350" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7266597/2.jpg" alt="2 (46)"/></p> <p>The school has defended its decision saying one of the rules clearly outlines students’ hair length.</p> <p>"All students know this is the school policy and they also know that the consequence is to complete school work in the inclusion room until the hair grows so that it is no longer extreme," Principal Sara Davey said.</p> <p>"If Niamh had asked the school about shaving her hair for charity then this would have been pointed out and an alternative fundraising idea would have been suggested."</p> <p>Ms Davey said that Niamh has been accessing her classes via digital technology and the school will discuss with her mother the best way to return to her classroom as soon as possible.</p> <p>"The family had every opportunity to contact the school about their actions before Niamh shaved her hair for charity but they for some reason did not do this," she added.</p> <p>Niamh shared a photo of her shaved head to Facebook and wrote, “My hair does not define who I am as a person”.</p> <p>Do you think Niamh’s punishment is extreme? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. </p>

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Mum threatens to cancel Christmas to punish naughty children

<p>An Australian mother sick of her children misbehaving has made them believe Santa would cancel Christmas unless their behaviour improved.</p> <p>The three children found their Christmas tree wrapped in industrial strength cling wrap with a note warning they had just one week to shape up.</p> <p><img width="419" height="558" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/05/12/470130DC00000578-5147489-A_Queensland_mother_sick_of_her_children_misbehaving_wrapped_up_-a-11_1512478383865.jpg" alt="A Queensland mother sick of her children misbehaving wrapped up the tree and made them believe Santa would cancel Christmas unless they improved with one a week" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" id="i-ce90da0dffbb52bb"/></p> <p>Signed by “Elise”, one of Santa’s elves, the note put the kids on notice.</p> <p>“If you want me to keep visiting, a Santa visit, your tree and presents back your behaviour needs to improve,” the note read.</p> <p>“Santa is very angry and I'm disappointed. Be good and say sorry to mum. You all have 1 week to improve. I'm watching.”</p> <p>The mum’s decision drew a mixed reaction when posted on social media.</p> <p>“As a mother of 5, foster Mum of 2, Granny of 13 and a great grandmother I say well done. It’s great to see a parent in control,” one woman wrote, praising the mother.</p> <p>“Kids of old used to get a lump of coal in their Christmas stocking if they were not up to scratch,” another user commented.</p> <p>“These lucky modern kids got given an opportunity to redeem themselves before the cut-off date. I think us parents are getting soft just like our kids.”</p> <p><img width="432" height="786" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/05/12/470130E500000578-5147489-Signed_by_Elise_purportedly_one_of_Santa_s_elves_the_note_put_th-a-12_1512478383973.jpg" alt="Signed by Elise, purportedly one of Santa's elves, the note put the children on notice, telling them her boss was angry with them" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" id="i-67dc04ee693f04a9"/></p> <p>However, many others condemned the mum’s actions branding it “awful parenting” as the message was too vague for children to know when they did wrong.</p> <p>Others said rather than pretending to be Santa and his elves the mum should have addressed the problems with her children as parents instead.</p> <p>“It's too harsh. We used to just say 'Remember Santa's watching'. No threats, no drama - and it worked a treat in our house,” one wrote. “Our grandkids get the same reminder from their parents now.”</p> <p>“Consequences should always be directly related and immediate. Also it's so vague - what behaviour needs changing? How are you helping your children improve their behaviour?” another parent commented.</p> <p>“Be clear (and realistic) in your expectations and don't forget to model the behaviour you want to see.”</p> <p>What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

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