Getting On Like A House On Fire

thursdays article from the guardian was about an obsessive loner called Mark Goldstraw, how had been released from jail early (after 3 years from a 7 year sentence) for killing a former lover. While on parole, he murdered 4 people in their house by setting it alight.

This article could also be viewed as an attack on the probation service. Goldstraw was released after 3 years, and was supposed to be banned from living in his hometown. He was living there anyway and nobody knew any different!

this was quite shocking for me to read, how can so many people be put at risk by such a careless mistake?!

if your going to let a killer out of prison, and issue him a ban from a certain area, make sure you know where he is so he isnt living there! rediculous.

i cant understand why he was let out in the first place. If someone is sentenced to 7 years they should have to serve it. They let him out and what does he go and do? set a house on fire and kill four innocent people.

its hardly surprising if we are just going let killers back on the streets.

i personally think the prison service is a bit of a joke. I think prison should be the most awful place on earth, it should be the ultimate deterrant. Instead, if you commit a crime, you get a reasonably comfortable new home, some with a TV! some people say its costs too much to keep people in jail, well for a start they could cancel their TV license and Sky connection!

many of us were moaning about how much we have to pay for accomodation, and i am annoyed that i cant watch football and various other things because i dont have sky. Let's all go and kill someone and we can get these things for free!

seriously though, if a man is capable of setting a house on fire and knowingly kiling 4 people inside, then someone working for the prison should have known about it before letting this lunatic out.