What we're talking about

NW on Win A Lexus with The Rumour File That common sense has become very uncommon! more
Ela Carte on Ela Carte's Morsels Hi Gail,I think you must mean Noir, which is at 175 Swan St Richmond - www.noirrestaurant.com.au.And yes, it was absolutely ... more
peter on Win A Lexus with The Rumour File RE YOUR RUMOUR FILE ALL THIS MONEY MR DOYLE IS SPENDING ON SWANSTON ST I THINK RUMOUR USED TO BE FACT THAT SWANSTON ST IS A ... more
Nicholas on 3AW Online Community HUGE GARAGE SALE!Everything is absolutely cheap29 Greensted Grove, Roxburgh Park8:00 - 4:00 more
Jaime on Ask Bob Hart a food question Hi Bob,I've been getting extra organised this year and have already started making my Christmas puddings for family and ... more
Marty Cogger on Streaming 3AW with Mac and iPhone Please tell me why no android app,does apple own the world.No all the the people in the world have to own anything apple. more
Caroline on 3AW Online Community Choir of Hope & Inspiration â?? Joy to the World concertWed 7th December Christmas Concert - 7:30pm, St Michaelâ??s Uniting ... more
gail creighton on Ela Carte's Morsels Morning Ela I was wondering if you could advise the restaurant that you were discussing with Ross and John on Friday morning ... more
Nina on 3AW Online Community Garage Sale - 16 Wilsons Road Doncaser this Saturday 26th November starting at 8.00am. Vintage homewares, manchester, ... more
Mim and Millie on Mikayla Francis not forgotten We love and miss our cheeky little princess. Will be sending you love and messages on Sunday.XXX more
Anonymous on BLOG: Eastlink speed camera I'm glad to see I'm not alone on this. I received a fine yesterday for the Wellington Rd underpass, when I know for a fact ... more
Sandra Pemberton on 3AW Online Community Garage sale, Saturday 5th November from 8am, 9 Shenfield Avenue Chelsea- while you're at the beach today pop in and have a ... more
liberty1 on Do Not Fit A Smart Meter! Smart meters are a part of the United Nations Agenda 21 plan. Everyone here will know about Agenda 21 indirectly, it is also ... more
olive on Do Not Fit A Smart Meter! Because we have a granny flat,there would be 2 smart meters on the wall directly behind our bedhead. Does anyone know how ... more
Mich Smith on Do Not Fit A Smart Meter! Our block of units had smart meters installed without consent and with no prior notification either. My partner bought an ... more
Gillian Horvath on 3AW Online Community SALES BONANZA : Fundraiser for the Drysdale Bowling & Croquet Club, Collins St, Drysdale : Sunday 6th November : 10am to ... more
Graham Ferguson on Streaming 3AW with Mac and iPhone another vote for an android app more
Dianne on 3AW Online Community Sandy Point Wind FestivalCup Weekend Saturday 30 October and Sunday 31 October.Sandy Point is approx 2 hours from Melbourne ... more
lola on Smart meter rollout continues I just listened to the Energy Minister Michael O'Brien say that we all pay for the SM whether we have it installed or not! ... more
Sue Mittermair on Do Not Fit A Smart Meter! Say no to Smart Metres. An enquiry to suspend is needed now. Power prices will go up. Everyone I know who has a smart metre ... more

'Cross-dressing' killer walks free

Posted by: Derryn Hinch | 2 September, 2010 - 5:59 PM

HINCH: I’ve got this crazy idea. I’ll put on a frock and a blonde wig and I’ll go out and I’ll kill somebody. And then when I go to court I’ll argue that I am a cross-dresser, and maybe I’ll throw in that I take illegal drugs (not for recreational purposes) because I am depressed.

And the judge will say ‘I understand’ and I won’t be sent to jail. Because people will tease me and bully me.

Now that’s pretty far-fetched but something like that has happened in a Melbourne Court.

A cross-dressing Victorian P-plater who was speeding, lost control of his car crashed his car and killed his girlfriend.

Twenty-one-year-old Jaybe Baldwin pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death. He could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail.

But County Court Judge Marilyn Harbison decided Baldwin could be attacked in prison because of his sexuality – even in a youth unit – so she sentenced him to three years jail, totally suspended, and he walked free.

It’s an extraordinary case. And in my view an extraordinary decision. Surely our prisons must be safe enough for all sorts of prisoners.

Even though I’ll concede Baldwin could be at risk in the general prison population.

Even the judge said the sentence was not ‘a totally appropriate one’ but let Baldwin walk free nonetheless.

Blog comments

What I can't understand.
If the guy was not jailed because of his troubled life with sexuality.
How come he had a girlfriend of weeks?
It seems strange to me.

Dazza Tuesday 7 September, 2010 - 1:41 PM
Little do you know that this kid is also suffereing from other illnesses. This isn't just about him being a cross dresser. People need to get all the facts before they make accusations!

Elise Monday 6 September, 2010 - 8:48 PM
Life is cheap in Australia. Due to the high cost of prisons, criminals are being given light sentences. There are too many "humanitarian" ideologies about the sanctity of human life, and all these "rights" end up in conflict. The rise in our crime rates is disturbing and needs to be stemmed. We need to bring back capital punishment for the worst of killers involving children and the vulnerable, and for serial killers. Being a "cross dresser" is in the same category of "mental illness" excuse for leniency!

VivKay Thursday 2 September, 2010 - 6:37 PM
Great message to send out to people who kill, just tell the Judge you a Cross Dresser, and you go Free.

janet page Thursday 2 September, 2010 - 6:27 PM