Abusers, killers and rapists freed to reoffend
HIGH-PROFILE cases of offenders freed under ‘soft justice’ include:
MARK PETTIGREW
SEX predator Pettigrew raped a girl of 13 while he was on bail for a similar attack.
Pettigrew, who was caught on camera carrying out the attack on a cycle path, was also convicted of raping a 15-year-old and having underage sex with a third girl.
At the High Court in Glasgow last year, judge Lord Burns told Pettigrew, now 21: ‘There is a predatory element to these offences.’
He jailed Pettigrew for four-anda-half years, placed him on the sex offenders’ register and ordered he be monitored in the community for five years after his release.
JOHN STYLES
HOMELESS Styles murdered an artist while on bail – which was granted twice despite him admitting violent crimes.
Styles stabbed Jeroen van Neijhof 19 times, mutilating his face so badly he could only be identified by DNA. In the weeks before, Styles had been freed on bail twice after admitting assault and robbery at knifepoint, and separately to having a cosh and heroin. Styles, then 21, pleaded guilty to the 201 murder and was sentenced to a minimum term of 15 years in jail.
NATHAN TAYLOR
IN April, a housebreaker who robbed an elderly woman while on bail was allowed to walk free from
they can be released on bail.’ Mr Brown said that as a result of the legislation, prisoners should see ‘much more active interest’ from public agencies offering ‘throughcare’ [continuity of care] services.
He added: ‘Even though sometimes you’ll see some headlines saying “this is soft justice”, the very fact that we can prepare somebody who’s been in prison to live a life without crime has got to be something which we all want to subscribe to. If we do that properly through throughcare at the same time as looking after the interests of victims, then that has to be not soft justice but smart justice.’