Letter: Law as social revenge

Sir: When I was a very small boy, my father told me that British justice was the envy of many less fortunate nations. I believed him. Now, on the same page of your paper (12 March) I read two astonishing reports. In one a group of sado-masochists, who have harmed no one except themselves, are sent to prison for consensual acts performed in private. In the other, a 15-year-old boy, who has been tried, convicted and sentenced by due process of law, is to have his sentence changed to a custodial one in order to satisfy the demands of social revenge and political correctness.

Yours sincerely,

J. L. RANDALL

Leamington Spa, Warwickshire