Legal

OUT OF THE FRYING PAN: Convicted criminal journalist spared jail but still stuck at Star News Group

Former Age journalist Stephen Linnell who was convicted of three perjury counts has been sentenced to eight months jail, suspended for two years. His crimes were committed during his time as the media director of Victoria Police.

That means he won’t be imprisoned unless he commits another offence in the next two years. He was also fined $5000.

In the circumstances of his co-operation with the prosecution after being busted, it’s probably an appropriate sentence for a first-time criminal offender.

EINFELD JUSTICE?
It will fuel concerns that Marcus Einfeld was probably over-sentenced when he got two years for lying about a speeding fine. He is believed to be considering an appeal against his sentence.

Although his performance on Four Corners was not far off catastrophic. He was just too pompous for the mea culpas we have come to expect on television these days. If you can’t denounce yourself sufficiently on those shows, can’t cry, can’t self-loathe to the standard required on Jerry Springer then you are really better off shutting the hell up.

The show indicated and Andrew Bolt reminds us today that he had form for lying under oath and in many other contexts. In our faith, everyone was born a sinner and everyone lies, hopefully as little as possible though.

Despite this he felt the need to insist he was an honest man. A serial bank robber can go into banks 90% of the time and not pull out a gun, that doesn’t make he/she an honest supporter of the banking industry. The whole thing was foolish in the extreme.

He was still clinging to his days as a darling of the left where he would point out injustice and they would applaud their bleeding heart advocate and use his advocacy to achieve their outcomes. While the lecturing might have been a little tiresome and baby-boomerish, it clearly did some good on occasion too.

But all of that doesn’t change our view that his penalty of a two years minimum in jail was excessive, particularly considering his age, health and the fact that he’ll be at significant risk in the notorious NSW prison system where drugs and violence are said to be rampant.

Those who say he’s a lefty blowhard who had it coming miss the point, it ought not matter that he’s prominent, our system of justice should treat all equally. We very, very much doubt that Joe Blow would have attracted the same sentence as Einfeld. And whatever that might be, it isn’t justice of the kind that we ought to believe in.

EINFELD LIED ABOUT A SPEEDING FINE, LINNELL LIED ABOUT JEOPARDISING A MURDER INVESTIGATON
By contrast Linnell lied to a police corruption inquiry under oath, after conspiring to do so with one of his colleagues Noel Ashby. He also leaked information about a confidential Police murder investigation that could have jeopardised the pursuit of a killer. A lot more serious than a speeding fine.

He later claimed that he’d been manipulated by his former friend and in return for dropping him in it was able to get a sentencing discount too. All serious stuff. But we think Linnell was sentenced appropriately, he’s already been punished in many other ways as well. Just as Einfeld had.

The Magistrate Couzens said Linnell had “destroyed both his professional and personal lives” by perjuring himself. Linnell is now employed at the financially struggling Star News Group, perhaps the ultimate demonstration of how he’s sunk.

Now he’s escaped jail, we hope he can escape his SNG sentence too.

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