"Killed Someone With A Screwdriver..? Oh, Well, You're All Better Now!"

Over at An Englishman's Castle yesterday, there was a piece from the 'Scotsman' about a teenage thug who had been in trouble since the age of 11, and who had now disfigured a stranger in a random attack. I commented (sarcastically, of course) that the article's note - 'The sentence effectively means Cornelius will remain behind bars until a panel of experts say he is safe for release' - reassured me!

However, it seems that 'experts' are happy to let you roam the streets if you have done a bit more than that - if you have, in fact, killed a man:

Darrell McLeish was 19 when he was given an indefinite hospital order under the Mental Health Act for killing 29-year-old David Rodway in Bromley town centre.

But two years after the attack it has been revealed McLeish, formerly of Widecombe Road, Mottingham, is set to be allowed to go on day release from his medium-security hospital.

It's not just the parents of the murdered man, David Rodway, that (understandably) find this baffling:

Bromley police borough commander Chief Superintendent Charles Griggs is also angry at the news.

He said: "I'm outraged. How can someone who was so ill that he couldn't be given a prison sentence 17 months ago have made such a miraculous recovery that he's fit to be released?"

Don't know, Mr Griggs. But it seems to happen a lot...