Had this drafted but thought I'd post after Dalia's statement below. Her intervention that we have to be careful about the factors that play into sentencing are not without merit. If ever theres a yr & time to be acutely aware of the biases of the criminal justice system its now https://twitter.com/daliagebrial/status/1297283578401894401

The takes that she is "defending a child killer and terrorist" are just bad faith and I'm not going to merit with a response. The wider basis of what this gets to is whether its worth left commentators going onto TV for complex arguments on the law or not

I should note here that when we talk of "crime" the left is traditionally okay with some elements such as drug reform or mainstream abolishing stop & search but pretending like the left has ever been good on Counter-terrorism or national security is a huge mistake

The left including the socialist left have always been backed into going hard on this agenda to the extent that even Corbyn's labour couldn't bring itself to commit to abolishimg the widely discredited and five times UN condemned Prevent duty

Dalia raised imp points on ensuring sentences sit within legal doctrine? Why? Because sentencing inequalities exist (documented by Lammy review et al) and allowing them to be expanded arbitrarily does nothing but open doors for sentencing outside or established legal doctrine

CT policing has always been cover for political policing. XR, CND, PSC etc are all within the crosshairs of surveillance because of this. The left should be keenly aware of restraining those powers cos clearly this government won't think twice to destroy the left with them

The drive to weaken the left through surveilling orgs like this whilst clamping down on anyway to respond whether Trade Union laws or upcoming threats to change judicial review are all attacks on our ability to organise. We'd do well to remember this

This was a deeply traumatic incident in question & one that as a Manc i especially felt hit by. I was opposite the arena just minutes before the attack. However, Dalia's comments being spun by the law and order section of the left says more about how far we have to go to change

I understand many see conversations on abolition, justice and likewise as niche, challenging to make or even dumb. Atleast own that opinion and say what you mean so we know that even under the utopia your seemingly struggling towards, you would keep the militia of capital

The same police that beat the miners, beat the students, beat the youth in Tottenham in 2011. The same cops that killed in Peterloo, on Bloody Sunday kill people in cells and psychiatric cells constantly. They are not your friends

Convos on security and policing in this country are so jerked to the right to even inch them towards a place of objective analysis of facts such as sentences, ages of individuals or likewise conditions such a kneejerk response

Civil liberties, policing, legal inequalities, abolition, racism etc are incredibly tough topics to even consider making in the UK because of precisely this kind of response. Its been precisely because of our reluctance to fight these battles we are where we are today.

Deportations after visiting doctors because of data sharing. Kids questioned in nurseries by counter terrorism police. 1700+ dead after police contact or in state facilities since 1990, not on cop held accountable.

To think the judge was not actively considering the media spectale of th3 sentence is naive. Which takes us to the point but the great harm involved and caused (which I shoukd reitirate was not actually Dalia's point as some takes suggest)

The point Dalia was making was we cannot abandon our commitment to our rights and freedoms on the basis of the individuals who commit harm. Its the same reasons many of us arguing for the abolition of Prevent don't want the far right to face Prevent either.

Unfair and unjust laws no matter how widely applied, whether to our class or ideological enemies and even to people who have caused great harm are still unfair and unjust laws.

Dogpiling onto Dalia to get one over on a relatively popular left commentator nothing has been done but further reaffirm to the right their ownership of national security - an ownership that has seen draconian law after draconian law strip away our rights and freedoms

This hasn't made the left look good on national security. The entire concept of national security isn't one we can ever win, every inch you give them is just another inch further to the right in the debate

In summary; you may have disagreed with her choice to do the appearance but this was after the fact - condemning did nothing but give further reach to someone already being dogpiled.

Many of those today commenting in bad faith have never organised in issues of state violence, policing and securitisation. It is telling they'd be the first to condemn without context. Its a reminder to those working to an abolitionist world of how much we have to do