Lostprophet's singer Ian Watkins sentenced to 35 years for child sex offences

[AssassinDX]

BBC News - Lostprophets' Ian Watkins sentenced to 35 years over child sex offences

Quite a shocking case, do you agree with the length of the sentence?

[Ayen]

I'm so used to light sentences over here I can't even say if 35 years is long or not long enough.

Attempted rape of a bab- of a bab- what the smurf!? Kay, I decided, 35 years isn't long enough.

[AssassinDX]

The criminal justice system in the UK is generally quite lenient, particularly so for people with celebrity status. Over here we have a singer called Pete Doherty who is more famous for his drug abuse than music career, but he's generally avoided prison for most of his charges on account of being famous, and when he does end up in prison he's always released early (most recently he was released six weeks into a six month sentence). In fact one time he only got a fine for "accidentally" bringing heroin into a courtroom while receiving treatment for his addiction.

As nasty as they charges against Ian Watkins are, in my opinion 35 years is fair punishment. He's not eligible for parole for at least 20. I honestly expected him to get 6 months.

[noxious.sunshine]

Meh. It's the same in the U.S.

Lindsey Lohan got locked up several times and was out within hours. I think her longest stint was like 30 days- maybe less. Same with Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and several other celebrities. The L.A. justice system claims they release them early due to overcrowding. I call BS.

[Ayen]

I'll always be amazed at just how much value we put on people we see on TV everyday but know nothing about.

[AssassinDX]

This is true, I was never a fan of the band but they've been very popular for more than a decade and this whole thing came completely out of nowhere, even his bandmates had no idea what was going on.

I don't know if you're aware of the child sex offences thign going on the UK at the moment with guys like Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and yesterday we found out a popular morning weatherman, but basically more and more people are being discovered to be pedophiles. It's frightening.

[Shorty]

If it was a single-instance case, I might be inclined to agree with the sentence. However, this man has repeated extreme crimes of sexual violence to minors over and over again and it is patterned heinous behavior for which I cannot find an apology or remorse for in that article. Let's also keep in mind that these are only the crimes that were discovered, and I would not be surprised if many, many more were committed that we will never know about.

He deserves life.

[Psychotic]

The crimes he committed were bad enough, but the fact that he doesn't think he did anything wrong is what seals it for me - the man is absolute filth. It's a shame because I do like some of their songs and it's hard to listen to them without associating it with what he did.

[Mirage]

Meh. It's the same in the U.S.

Lindsey Lohan got locked up several times and was out within hours. I think her longest stint was like 30 days- maybe less. Same with Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and several other celebrities. The L.A. justice system claims they release them early due to overcrowding. I call BS.

Didn't lindsay mostly get arrested for drug stuff though? Most drug charges shouldn't even get you in jail, in my opinion.

I have no problems with 35 years for this sort of thing. Consider his age for a bit, he won't be out of prison before he's an elderly citizen. The rest of his life is practically gone.

[DMKA]

Watkins' victims included a baby boy, and he sent an SMS text message to the mother of one, saying "If you belong to me, so does your baby".

I've never heard of this guy before now...ho-lee smurf.

[The Man]

If it was a single-instance case, I might be inclined to agree with the sentence. However, this man has repeated extreme crimes of sexual violence to minors over and over again and it is patterned heinous behavior for which I cannot find an apology or remorse for in that article. Let's also keep in mind that these are only the crimes that were discovered, and I would not be surprised if many, many more were committed that we will never know about.

He deserves life.

Agreed. However, 35 years is still a much harsher sentence than I was expecting him to get, so I can't say I'm terribly disappointed either.

[Quindiana Jones]

I approve of a judicial system which focuses on rehabilitation first and foremost, and ensuring that those who cannot be rehabilitated are removed from society. I've never approved of a retributive system of justice.

From what I know of this fella, he's absolutely beyond any short term rehabilitation; repeat offences known, little to no remorse or understanding of wrong-doing shown. 35 years is a long ass time, and I can't imagine it myself, but in my eyes this falls quite soundly in the "security" part of my judicial definitions.

[Pant Leg Eater from the Bad World]

If it was a single-instance case, I might be inclined to agree with the sentence. However, this man has repeated extreme crimes of sexual violence to minors over and over again and it is patterned heinous behavior for which I cannot find an apology or remorse for in that article. Let's also keep in mind that these are only the crimes that were discovered, and I would not be surprised if many, many more were committed that we will never know about. He deserves life.

I agree. This is disgusting.
It makes it hard for me to listen to them now. Up until I found out about this LostProphets were probably my favorite band. But now, after knowing how he is. Ugh.