pedrospiderpig said:
murderer, lock him up. do the crime serve the time
A stupid post in every way.
Whilst not wishing to trivialise his crime,he is not a murderer.
And,most importantly,he has without doubt "served the time" - in fact he has served far,far longer than any comparative offender you care to mention.
The three criteria of a custodial sentence should be;
1) To punish the offender.This has undoubtedly been achieved.
2) To remove any threat to society.Again,given his frail state of health and time served,he no longer poses any serious risk.
3) To rehabilitate the offender.Arguable whether prison ever manages this,and pointless in this case anyway as most rehabilitation is focussed around job retraining,basic skills and addressing substance misuse issues.None of which are appropriate.
Nothing whatsoever,(other than continued expense to the taxpayer),is gained by his continued incarceration.
The only reason he will not be released is that Jack Straw,(yes,the one who's son received a mere caution for intent to supply drugs),is a spineless buffoon who is more concerned with adverse tabloid headlines than freeing a harmless,dying old man.