Britain: Socking It to The Bad Guys

The Marquess of Queensberry would surely approve. Just as he sought to impose rules on legal mayhem, otherwise known as boxing, so Britain’s Home Office last week attempted to quantify penalties for illegal assaults. Under guidelines sent to the country’s 27,710 magistrates, attackers can be forced, in effect, to compensate their victims by the punch. Sample penalties: $84 for a simple graze, $168 for a black eye, $1,428 for a broken nose, $2,940 for a fractured jaw and as much as $13,440 for a serious facial scar. Said Home Office Minister John Patten: “I am anxious that the victims get a better deal.” As for the bad guys, sock it to ’em.