Sir, - What made the reign of terror described in "States of Fear" possible was a nasty piece of legislation called The Children's Act, 1908. Paddy Doyle describes in his autobiography The God Squad (Raven Arts Press, 1988, Corgi 1989) how this legal framework enabled a judge to sentence him, at the age of four, to a recognized industrial school for "being in possession of a guardian who did not exercise proper guardianship", effectively criminalising him. It criminalised many thousands of others, simply because they were poor, and we know the result. One could almost say that the prime criminal in this whole sordid history is the law itself.
I am aware that just last week a young homeless man was charged under equally obnoxious legislation, The Vagrants Act of 1847. He is only one of many, of course, in the same circumstance. The poorest of the poor, he has been charged with begging, and as this is his second offence, he expects five months in Mountjoy. What this amounts to is being criminalised for not having a home. It may be too late for him, but I would ask our legislators why such an Act is still on the Statute books on the eve of the 21st century. - Yours, etc., Philip Casey,
Arran Street East, Dublin 7.