Is cross dressing the new ‘mental illness’ defense?
Melissa Neylon was a passenger in her boyfriend’s car back in February 2009. Her boyfriend, Jayke Baldwin was speeding.
Not surprisingly Baldwin eventually lost control of the car and hit a tree. Melissa presumably wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was thrown out onto the road upon impact.
The car Baldwin was driving then crushed her to death as she lay on the road.
All of the above is factual and there’s no disputing of the events as they occurred. Despite this however, when facing the Australian court system, Baldwin was found guilty and received a three year suspended sentence.
For no other reason than Jayke Baldwin is a cross dresser.
In what is arguably the most appalling sentence handed down this year by the Australian courts, Jayke Baldwin was spared actual jail time because
Victorian County Court judge Marilyn Harbison ruled that because of Baldwin’s cross-dressing and effeminate presentation he would be bullied in jail.
How is this suspended sentence even remotely a representation of justice?
What I don’t get it is, as far as I know, everyone has to wear the same clothing in jail… and unless he’s got connections, is it common place for inmates to secure makeup in prison?
I can only assume make up is what judge Harbison meant by ‘effeminate presentation’ otherwise it’s even more ridiculous Baldwin was let off due to his natural appearance.
Forget coming up with some wank story about your childhood, how that resulted in severe emotional trauma and now you have some mental illness… the next time you find yourself fronted up in court over a murder charge just borrow or steal some of your wife/girlfriend/daughter/sister/aunties/your next door neighbour’s panties and be done with it.
With the advent of such a justice crushing precedent it’s going to be a hell of a lot easier to avoid jail now. And why just leave it to a murder charge?
Forgot to pay a parking ticket – I have ambitions to be a woman!
Left your kids in the car on a hot day – I want to be a woman one day!
Defrauded the government of millions of dollars – It’s what any woman would do, and I’m one…LOOK AT MY CLOTHES!
Here’s to the continuing complete and utter incompetence of the Australian judicial system.
September 3rd, 2010 at 6:40 pm Ben(Quote)
I was wondering if you’d pick up on this one! Amazing isn’t it.
He’s a cross dresser and wants a sex change, therefore all is forgiven. Surely that would make his life all the better in Jail?
September 4th, 2010 at 7:48 pm PeterF57(Quote)
It’s just one of a plethora of excuses scumbag lawyers use to get their clients off. Actually it’s not them mostly at fault, it’s the idiot magistrates, those softcock luvvie duvvie feelgood progressive wankers, who let murderers walk, and the DPP downgrade premeditated murders to manslaughter, brought in by Rob Hulls, the king idiot.
And seeing as you are still an Aussie, albeit living in Taiwan, which is probably very gooberised, the word is defence.
September 5th, 2010 at 2:12 am Caffeinated SentryGnome(Quote)
so if i ever get in trouble i’ll just tell the judge i wont like it in jail and ask if i can just stay home?!?
September 5th, 2010 at 9:28 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
How would anyone find out though? I know in tv shows like OZ and that they portray guys running around with makeup on in dresses but surely we don’t allow that kind of stuff here (or in actual US prisons)?
Frankly I’m appalled the judge put Baldwin’s personal needs ahead of the law he is supposed to make judgement with.
@PeterF57
This has come up before and as far as I can tell either defense or defence is acceptable. I use defence when talking about our armed fores and defense when talking about personal defense.
Dunno why, just seems to be what’s comfortable.
September 9th, 2010 at 6:54 pm Lee wilkinson(Quote)
My sister kerrie was Melissa (the crash victim)’s best friend, or one of her many best friends.. Either way, jayke is such a cock! He has learned nothing from this.
Who cares if he gets bullied in jail.. Jail isn’t meant to be nice and friendly. If he really is a cross dresser and it isn’t an excuse, then that should have made him all the more careful about doing illegal things…
People like him, and I’m generalizing here, but people like him are the first to say “just because I cross dress doesn’t make me any different! I have rights too!” but when they have “the right to remain silent, it’s “oh I don’t want to go to jail! I’m a cross dresser and should be treated differently. It’s bull!!
September 9th, 2010 at 8:10 pm Kerrie Wilkinson(Quote)
Yes, I was one of Melissa’s best friends, and we (her friends and family) do not feel that justice has been served and a ridicule has been made of Melissa’s life. Did her life really hold that little value that taking it away won’t be punished? Well, not to all who knew her.
I have a petition against this, encouraging an appeal. Please sign it!!
http://www.petitiononline.com/Mel1990/petition.html
September 20th, 2010 at 7:40 pm dylan(Quote)
how is sentancing this guy to prison going to give the family satisfaction, sentancing someone with dissabilities to somewhere where he will be a victom.
Everyone has got it all wrong, know one knows what was said in the court so stop making assumptions and goin off what u here on the raido or see in the newspapers
September 21st, 2010 at 2:22 am Lee Wilkinson(Quote)
Dylan, i really hope that the only reason you’re sticking up for him is because you know him.
Cross dressing is not a disability, and it says on news sites that he has ‘a provisional diagnoses of asphergers’ which essentially means that he has the slightest inclination that he MAY have asphergers.
I myself was diagnosed with the same thing, and trust me, it doesnt impare your judgement.
AND even if it DID impare it, NOT punishing the kid wont do any good. What you might not know is that jayke already lost his license before, and then drove like a dick again. if he didnt learn his lesson from losing his license in the first place, he needs a tougher lesson.
September 21st, 2010 at 2:54 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Labelling cross dressing as a disability? Wow that’s a big call…
Still, even if it was that’s no reason to not punish people. If a white guy went on a black guy killing spree and statistically prisons had a black population majority – should we just let the guy off?
If someone defrauds a bunch of people and get sentenced to jail, where some of his ‘well connected’ investors are, do we let him off too?
Getting harmed in prison is definitely something that needs a precautionary approach, but letting people off massively sends out the wrong message.
What are you talking about? The media are regularly given access and failing that there’s always court transcripts.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:01 am ausGeoff(Quote)
I think that the one critical thing our judiciary choose to ignore (for political reasons?) is that a custodial sentence is actually intended as a punishment for a crime committed.
Gaols are NOT supposed to be a cross between Club Med and a TAFE and the local pub. You’re supposed to feel disadvantaged and isolated from society and its social norms. By committing your crime, you’ve thumbed your nose at society’s rules, and certainly can’t expect to claim protection under those same rules now you’re heading to the lockup.
We really need to get over this ill-considered belief in “rehabilitation” (doesn’t work anyway; see the stats for recidivism) and start looking at making criminals hurt — like their victims did.
Get rid of the squash courts, the pool tables, the plasma TVs, the computers and the swimming pools. And let the cross-dressers take their chances.
October 17th, 2010 at 12:28 pm Pete Fumberger(Quote)
Have many of you have seen cross-dressers? I can understand just why it might be dignosded as a mental disturbance. They are bloody horrid looking, even if you are a good looking bloke.
Now transvestism I can understand, they want to dress and act and look like ladies, and believe me, many are simply sensational, especially the petite little Asian boys, in Singapore and the Philippines, and similar countries.
But cross-dressers, they just throw on a dress and put some wig on, usually askew (maybe they can’t dress themselves properly because they are straight blokes, and of course, we have no idea on how to dress, we have to leave that to the queer guys for a straight guy types), and they get their feelings hurt because nobody in their right mind looks at them, unless they need their eyes bleached.
Mmmm, transvestites in Singapore. I’m going there in a few days, maybe I can relive some experiences from my Navy days back in Sydney in the 70s at the Venus Room.
I’ll see if I can take some photos. Maybe OzBoy, he of the can’t find decent chocolate, let alone Swiss Truffles, which are deliciously scrummo, in Taiwan fame, can put them up.
October 19th, 2010 at 3:36 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Sounds interesting Pete, for sure I’ll look at publishing them if you’re keen.
To be honest with the level that guys here in Taiwan go to to look androgynous I’ve probably walked past a few cross dressers and had no idea.
I guess being hairless and petite is a huge field advantage when you’re trying to dress like a woman.
October 19th, 2010 at 11:35 pm PeterF57(Quote)
I’ll have to find out their haunts first, Bugis St having been closed to all the good girls and boygirls, and then ask if I can take photos. They might scratch my eyes out, who knows, they can be a vicious mincing lot some of them.
Actually I met one the other night in KL. I was just doing my nightly walk in the seedier parts of town, and out it popped from the shadows. Quite lovely, large breasted for such a petite little thing, and she wanted to talk, so I asked if she was circumcised, and boy, was she, she told me she’d had it all cut off and manufactured into a woman’s thingy.
My first ever post-op tranny, not my first sexually, not partaking of her charms, my first ever having met one.
October 20th, 2010 at 3:35 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Wow, sounds like you lead quite the interesting life.
I’m not kinda sure how these things work in Malaysia, was she a prostitute or what? And when you say wanted to talk, wanted to try and convince you to have a go or just like chat?
I’ve walked through some pretty dodgy areas of Taiwan and apart from some gangster looking guys shouting hello at me from across the street (presumably to guage if I was interested) not much really happened.
October 20th, 2010 at 4:47 am PeterF57(Quote)
Yes, she was a prostitute and she wanted to talk to try and convince me to take her back to a seedy hotel where they charge by the hour and you’re probably rutting on a freshly stained mattress from the previous hour’s occupants.
Not my cup of tea really, even though, let’s face it, most hotel beds would be similar, though not with the assembly line frequency of the sexual trysts.
Not that I am averse to the prostitutes, especially like in the Philippines, where it’s cheaper to have an all-nighter than go into the clubs and bars and buy the girls the very expensive drinks. And they are so delicious.
That’s one badge of honour I have, 2 months in the PI, and not one bar or club was entered, and I spent 3 weeks in Angeles City.
But it’s those bean children I am looking to see when I am in Singapore, and hopefully photos will be forthcoming (fully clothed of course, this is a blog suitable for all ages).
And again, I apologise for the segue into prostitution and manufactured girly bits. I have an amazing talent for going off on tangents, which are in some way related, but with more than 10 degrees of separation.
October 22nd, 2010 at 2:04 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
That’s one thing I’ve never understood. I understand the want for some males to become females if they feel that way, but to do so just for prostitution?
Add to that they don’t get the nerve sensations that females get do they? Kinda makes me ask what teh whole point of sex for them is… Can’t imagine I’d be too keen on it if I couldn’t feel much.
October 22nd, 2010 at 3:38 pm PeterF57(Quote)
Ours is not to reason why OzBoy. Whatever floats your boat I guess. But I have no idea either, I just know that many of these petite Asian beanies are quite stunning.
October 22nd, 2010 at 6:20 pm Lee wilkinson(Quote)
Seriously guys, what the fuck…?
Private message each other or email or something.. People like me, melissas family and friends don’t wanna read all this.. Thanks guys
October 23rd, 2010 at 3:04 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Since when did this become the Melissa Neylon tribute page?
OzSoapbox is a relatively open blog and discussion is dynamic
.
October 23rd, 2010 at 8:51 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
Totally agree Oz…
I’m thinking that Lee Wilkinson has attempted to steer this topic totally off-course. As I read it, the discussion is intended to draw attention to the way in which our judicial system appears to favour “cross-dressers” with more lenient sentences — for example — simply because of their self-chosen and socially perverse path in life.
Although Melissa’s death was an unnecessary tragedy by any assessment, this particular blog is NOT about Melissa. It’s about our justice (injustice?) system.
Ms Wilkinson complains that “People like me, Melissa’s family and friends don’t wanna read all this.”
Uh… nobody’s forcing you or them to read it Ms wilkinson — it’s entirely your, or their, choice to do so. If it’s (apparently) so distressing to you and yours, may I politely suggest you simply avoid reading this particular blog any further.
—Geoff.