Dr. Fintan Lane is heading to prison this afternoon for refusing to pay his €750 fine for trespassing at Shannon Airport in October 2002. I have little sympathy for the man, but it does seem odd to me that he is going to prison.
At a time when our prisons are already overflowing and some offenders are being released due to a lack of prison space, I'm not sure it's such a wise decision to imprison this man for refusing to pay his fine. Equally, I think it's vital that some form of punishment is found that enables society to see that justice has been done and the trespasser has been duly punished.
William extols the virtues of the chain gang to "encourage" people to pay their fines and I'm sure it would have some success. However, that's just not going to happen.
No matter what other non-custodial sentence the judge may have handed down, Dr. Lane could still have chosen not to comply until prison, again, was the only sanction left. This is unsatisfactory. There has to be a way for the state to guarantee compliance without necessarily threatening jail. Perhaps the state could put a lien on his wages until the fine is paid? State services could be withdrawn, licenses and passport revoked? I really don't know, but there has to be a better way.
This applies to the anti-war protestors, who are planning a "mass blockade aimed at disrupting normal business at Shannon airport" for December 6, bin tax protestors and any other people prosecuted for civil disobedience related incidents.
