Ruminations

Blog dedicated primarily to randomly selected news items; comments reflecting personal perceptions

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Oh Dear, Humble Pie!

Humble is perhaps putting it too emphatically; perhaps, in the name of reasonable doubt, exploring possible alternate options...? Lord Black who so effusively gushed his confidence that he would be found innocent of all charges brought against him in the U.S. appears to be restive; the sentencing date of November 30 draws nigh.

At which time he, and the world awaiting the post-verdict sentencing with bated breath, will learn what U.S. federal Judge Amy St.Eve has ruled for his very immediate future.

Might this man of massive intelligence and minuscule awareness conceivably be harbouring doubts about his infallibility? Not at all; he is but entertaining unfortunate thoughts of the lack of discernment and cerebral capabilities of the dozen men and women, tried and true, who sat in judgement of his self-incriminating antics in his life-drama of self-enrichment.

Three convictions of mail fraud and one of obstruction of justice have done him in.

He has instructed his highly-paid and, as it turned out, somewhat inept lawyers, to conduct quiet enquiries into the possibility of entreating those who have the powers to do so, to consider a more favourable option for His Lordship post-sentencing. Although he declared with his usual blend of supreme confidence and superior authority that he would never serve jail time, he appears now to be belated confounded by the reality that rears its serpent's head.

U.S. prosecutors have filed legal documents requesting that Judge St.Eve see fit to impose a sentence of incarceration for no fewer than a gaspingly-long period of from 19 to 24 years. Under the U.S. system of justice and time served, Lord Black, were he to receive that length of incarceration, might very well see his life end then and there.

Even he deserves better than that. 85% time served of the worse-case scenario would see him a doddering, drooling recluse.

Which is why, at this point, incarceration as tragic albeit unavoidable as it seems at this moment, might seem less frighteningly catastrophic were he to be able to serve time in Great Britain. He still holds British citizenship, after all. Under British law 50% of a sentence must be served after which an offender can apply for parole. Moreover, conditions in British jails are reputedly less harsh than those in the United States.

It's unfortunate that Lord Black gave up his Canadian citizenship in a pique of anger at former prime minister Jean Chretien's refusal to permit him to retain it and accept a peerage as well. At this point in his downfall it is a matter of much regret. He does retain residency status having spent the last three years pre-trial living in his country of origin and having applied to regain citizenship; with a criminal record now behind him, a remote possibility.

His residency visa expires three days before sentencing is pronounced. Were he to be able to bid for serving his sentence in Canada, for example, a mere one-third of the sentence served would suffice to enable qualification for full parole.

O Canada, 'tis of thee!

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