“The numbers are working in our favour.  Around seventy five percent of them wanted Simon dead, but that has swung our way now, with seventy five percent wanting him to be set free.”

“How does that affect the overall result?”

“That, we don’t know.  The exchange server is simply a relay, forwarding the emails onto another server, so we don’t have a history to look at.”

“So we just cross our fingers and hope?”

“Yep, that’s all we can do now. Thing is, though, even if we didn’t manage to do it in time to save Simon, it should save the lives of the others.”

“If he falls for it.”

Harvey went to Hammond’s office to see what he made of Gray’s list of proposed law changes.  “Is there anything sensible in his justice bill?”

“On the face of it,” Hammond said, “the public will probably lap this up, but some of it just isn’t possible, his idea of a real jail for starters.”

“What is he suggesting?”

Hammond looked through the printout to find the details.  “Each prisoner will have their own cell, and they will stay in there for twenty three hours a day.  Meals will be served in their cells.  There will be one hour of exercise per day, each person in a separate compound, and no contact between prisoners whatsoever.  Each prisoner will be given work to do in their cell, and if they meet their daily target they get eight hours pay at minimum wage, minus food and board, plus two hours of television.  If they don’t meet their daily target they get another day added to their sentence and no pay.  Once they have paid off the cost of their prosecution they have the option of moving into the prison population to serve their sentence, or remaining on their work schedule and taking courses to give them a chance on the outside.  If they do this, they get extra privileges, such as more TV and more exercise time, and each extra day of work takes two days off their sentence.”

“Sounds like he’s got it all worked out.  Does he say what kind of work they would be doing?”

“To start off with they could assemble pens and other items that require little quality control.  The courses will be in areas such as website design, computer maintenance and office skills.  Registered charities will be able to commission websites, get their PCs fixed, and so on.”

“I guess he wants to revoke their human rights so that they can be forced to work.”

“It certainly looks like it,” Hammond agreed.  “That, and the reintroduction of the birch.”

“Reintroduction?  I thought the birch was only used on the Isle of Man,” Harvey said.

“More recently, yes, but my father told me about the time he was given six strokes on the bare arse when he was a teenager.  He was one of the last to get the birch, and the judge told him that if he had been a little older he would probably have been given the cat o’ nine tails.  My father said it was a very effective form of punishment, and looking back he said it was a shame they abolished judicial corporal punishment in 1948.”