Criminal Act ‘Improved

> : The Unionists have brought bei fore Stormont a bill to amend the : ; t Criminal Justice (Temporary Pro: $ vision) Act. This notorious law { passed four months ago provided i ; for mandatory terms of prison for i offences-arising out-of disturbances. Already it has claimed over 500 victims, now behind bars in the Crumlin Road jail. The Unionists, it is claimed, are to 'relax' the law. The only effect of the new Bill will be to make the Criminal Justice Act more eff icent in its repression and we shall have to continue campaigning against it. Our fight is for the total abolition of this repressive law and it remains our fight.

The Unionisists, like all ruling classes, are past masters at appearing to give into pressure while in fact turning the screw tighter on those who protest. That is the case with their new Bill to amend the Criminal Justice Act.

What will it mean? Juveniles will be sent to Borstal or training schools instead of prison. That's a change without a diffenence. In fact all juveniles sentenced to prison, in the past, automatically transferred to borstal or training school. The point that is left unchanged is that they will be sentenced to stay in an institution for six months or more.

Another change is that for some ‘disorderly behaviour' offences not connected with riot, or what the police choose to call rot, imprisonment may be suspended. But again that is no change of substance. The kind of people who will escape will be quarrelling couples and drunks. The Act was never intended to touch them anyway, but was meant to repress protest from working class areas, particularly among the young and unemployed.

We have no cho‘ce but to mobilise and fight against this continued repression. prison would be full up.

Another thing I should like to mention, had the Judge with all his knowledge ever lived like we common-folk, in a two-up-two-down end house, as in this case, he would never have dreamed of asking was the entry alongside a "service entrance", or called the backyard a courtyard". But then not being like us common folk it did not cause him a thought sending a pregnant woman to prison, and breaking up a family of three small children. I also give a 'No Confidence! to the Jury.

Yours Sincerely, Mrs. Mary Duffin P.S. I forgot to mention that the grenade was thrown by the British Army, and since writing this letter Margaret Fennell has been sentenced to TWO YEARS in prison. Desmond Downey was given a THREE YEAR sentence.

Thank God I didn't hare to come by bus.

—Major Chichester-Clark at Belfast City Hall.

Belfast Teiec “aph

FREE CITIZEN 4th DECEMBER 1970.