Hey everyone, I hope all of you are not too tied down with essays at the moment. This is my first blog of many and I’m really excited, so welcome to all of you out there who read this and any posts in the future. This week has been a very busy week for me; I’ve been to see the Leicester Christmas lights turn on and me and my housemates completed our first step towards Christmas celebrations by putting up our tree.
On Sunday evening, a few friends and I went down into Leicester centre to watch the launch of the Christmas lights. The atmosphere was brilliant, as there were loads of families and groups of friends all getting into the Christmas spirit. The market place, which usually sells fruit and veg had been replaced by a vast amount of different stalls, from arts and crafts, to foods from all over the world and of course all the trimmings for a great Christmas day, such as home-made Christmas pudding and roasted chestnuts. After wondering around the stalls, we went a short walk away to the town hall, where there was entertainment both for adults and children (i.e. they had Santa on stage). When the countdown had finished the lights lit up the entire town hall and all up the nearby streets, which was spectacular, and later we came across the giant Christmas tree, which was covered in ‘snow’ and lights. I have to say the Christmas lights in Leicester are some of the best I’ve seen and it gets everyone into such a good mood! Our house has also been transformed, as our Christmas decorations went up this week! So, we had the Christmas music playing in the background whilst we put up the tree, tinsel and ball balls, which we all found was a nice rest from essay and dissertation writing.
Last week was our reading week in criminology, which is a great opportunity for everyone to catch up on some reading, begin essays, or just have an excuse to party a bit more! Personally, I think I did a bit of all three but I figure it’s my last year so I have to make the most of it. Anyway, recently in one of my modules we have been discussing the issue of mentally ill offenders and whether they are ‘mad’ or ‘bad’. I find this topic very interesting because you are able to look at some really notorious criminals, such as the Moors murderers, Ted Bundy, Dennis Nilsen and Peter Sutcliffe. When I started my criminology degree, these were the types of offences which fascinated me (as strange as that sounds) and now being able to really understand and learn about them is fascinating. When looking at whether an offender is mad or bad, it can be very difficult to get your head around as so many factors come into play. For instance, the law can mean that someone is not classed as insane, but if they committed a really gruesome crime, it is sometimes incomprehensible to believe they are sane. What should we regard as insane? Should we treat these offenders or send them for treatment in a hospital? If they are treated, should they be allowed back into society? What is more important public safety or the welfare of the offender? These are just some of the many questions that surround this issue, so please have a think and let me know what you reckon.
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