Jail for Ian Huntley

[gee4]

For those in the UK who were horrified of the murder of 2 young girls by Ian Huntley, I just wondered what your thoughts were as a result of the verdict.

Besides the fact that he has been found guilty, even as a human being, wouldn't you show some kind of remorse for ending the lives of 2 lovely little girls?  Now the media have unveiled that he has been accused of rape and other child abuse incidents, yet still the authorities in the UK hid this fact and Huntley was allowed to work as a caretaker in a school.

When will our laws change and when will our streets be free of these paedophiles?  I have followed this case since the day it happened and remember watching breaking news on tv when the girls had been found.  I admire the parents of Holly and Jessica for their strength and bravery having to face the media, as well as attend the trial and subsequent conviction of Ian Huntley.

Now he is on suicide watch as he rots in jail!

May our laws be changed soon so that this never happens again.

G

[raindance]

I followed the trial carefully and think it was a just verdict reached by a jury based on the facts before them.  Despite Mr Huntley's denials, there was a wealth of forensic evidence which helped to convict him of that hideous crime.

With regard to remorse - if someone is in denial, or does not think they have done anything wrong, then they have no remorse.  Remorse requires a degree of self-reflection and perhaps such a person as Mr Huntley is far too centred on himself, and gratifying himself in whatever way he considers appropriate, to feel the need to reflect.  Gratification and control are the important things in such a person's life.

I don't think the authorities set out to hide his past, but ut seems that a catalogue of errors led to him slipping through the net.  It's interesting that none of the previous incidents he was involved in, apart from burglary, ever "stuck" with him.  

In any case, such a person is often very accomplished at covering his tracks and making himself seem plausible.  

The suicide watch is standard practice in prison.  

I feel desperately sorry for the parents and families of those two poor children.

Raindance

[gee4]

The authorities certainly did hide his past by discarding of the paperwork which were about previous complaints of abuse.  Do we as PA's do that in an office?  Surely you file paperwork away, not bin it.

G

[peana]

I thought they had to do that due to the data protection act?  I must admit I haven't followed it in detail, so I may have got the wrong end of the stick.

[gee4]

So you bin data in order to protect it?  It certainly will involved someone resigning over this pretty soon ....

G

[raindance]

The authorities may have hid his past by discarding relevant paperwork, but did they do that deliberately?  There is no evidence of that as yet because the appropriate enquiries have not been made, or if they have the findings have not been published.  Having poor administrative procedures for retention of documents, which may be the case here, is not the same as wilful destruction of documents.  

I expect there will be a careful investigation of these matters and, hopefully, some positive changes so that no-one else has to go through what those poor parents have gone through this past year.  

Raindance