THE absconding from an open prison of the so-called ‘skull-cracker’ Michael Wheatley, who was serving 13 life sentences for many armed robberies, raises many questions about law and order in the UK. Why was this criminal allowed to be in an open prison in the first place?
On this week’s BBC Breakfast, Sir David Calvert Smith, of the parole board, was in ‘cloud cuckoo land’ when he defended the decision by the parole board to let this man out from behind bars to do as he pleased and walk away from the open prison while sticking two fingers up at the criminal justice system.
The old adage ‘if you do the crime you serve the time’ seems to be not how Sir David interprets guilty prisoners doing the time. Has the UK justice gone soft?
These open prison ‘residents’ are all laughing, as they have virtually got away with the crimes they committed, living a relatively easy life in open prison. I always thought serving a sentence in prison was to teach the offender a lesson and to not repeat offences.
According to Sir David, harsh sentences are not the way to teach criminals right from wrong.
Is the UK becoming a home for all sorts of criminals who know they will be looked after nicely in an open prison?
Adrian Taylor, Duncan Close, Eynsham
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