Police Our Streets Not Tweets

We've all done it: said something in anger or in the heat of the moment and regretted it afterwards.

Lucy Connolly's mistake was to say it on social media.

The thought police swooped. And, yes, that is the sort of country we live in now.

She was arrested, denied bail (to which she is entitled as a person of previously exemplary character) and sentenced to 31 months in prison.

Her tweet, deleted just a few hours after it was posted, said unpleasant things about migrants and remember many people falsely believed the killer to be a migrant, which he wasn't. But consider these facts:

• Lucy had been diagnosed with PTSD following the death of her toddler Harry in 2011 due to catastrophic medical negligence.

• She had a visceral reaction to the suffering of children, let alone their death.

• Many immigrant parents wrote glowing testimonials about their children's carer. "The kindest British person we've met," said one.

Furthermore, there is no evidence that her tweet stirred up violence or racial hatred. Did the judge take account of any of these mitigating circumstances? Did he heck!

Her appeal took place last week but, in spite of having all the evidence they needed in front of them, the judges still couldn't make up their minds and said they would provide a written judgement as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the prison authorities are warning Lucy that if the outcome of the appeal is favourable, she shouldn't expect to go straight home. Oh no, they'd rather put her in Approved Premises with key workers first.

Outside the Royal Courts of Justice (something of a travesty that last word), members of the Free Speech Union held a protest, carrying a banner that said "Police Our Streets Not Tweets." We need a rebalancing of the criminal justice system where people who cause actual physical harm are dealt with severely instead of somebody posting a misguided tweet.

But the public already know that. After the disgraceful lack of a decision by the three Appeal Court judges, a crowdfunder was set up to help Lucy Connolly rebuild her shattered life. The total raised in under 24 hours was £24,000. When I went on the site to donate, the total had risen to £68,000 and I've just checked again and it stands at over £81,000.

If you think what has happened to this 42 year old childminder is outrageous, then please make a donation to the Lucy Connolly crowdfunding page.