DANGEROUS CRIMINAL.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 4129, 29 October 1920, Page 3

DANGEROUS CRIMINAL.

} SCENE IN SUPREME COURT

:,- '.'I think accused is a Bolshevik," said Mr Hunt, when perusing the police report in the Supreme Court at Auckland on Friday, on John William "McClure, who admitted nine charges ot • breaking and entering and theft, and a tenth charge of breaking and enteri ing with intent. The.crimes were committed over a wide area, most of them

bemg. at Thames. j Mr Hunt said accused was reported to have objections to the existing law, j and to have stated that he would con--1 tniute to commit offences as long as the 1 law continued in its present form, j Until four years ago, when McClure ► was 38 years of age, he had lived a decent fife, but he suddenly went ' wrong, apparently under some kind of j influence. Iv these, lour years he had been convicted a number of times, and ' in August last, at Palmerston North, Ihe was sentenced to three years for ', breaking and entering, which he was [ now serving. j His Honour (to prisoner): It is clear you are unfit to be at large, and that you are a, dangerous criminal. So tar ■ ub breaking and entering and stealing ' property is concerned, you are sen- { tenced to hve years' imprisonment Avith hard labour, to begin at the end ol I your present sentence. The prisoner: That is eight years' I hard labour. I His Honour: Considering the. num- | ber of burglaries you have committed, I think it is very moderate, j Prisoner: It has been brought out S that I am not very normal mentally, j Honestly, ,do you think anybody is f going to serve* eight years' hard labour ! tor doing a lot of trivial things ? 1 ■ would prefer to be classed as a-lunatic. ; I havo never injured a working man, or ' robbed an orphan. Don't you think it a bit hot when 4 1 was not in gaol till I wae 39 years old?

j Prisoner continued to make a torrent of remarks in a loud voice, and after being assured by the Judge that ho i would be examined by a doctor to ascertain his mental condition, he was ' removed in the midst of a speech about S "not caring whether he got another ; two years for contempt of Court, and • that he would sooner bo condemned as ' a lunatic than go through eight years' , hard labour."