Star comment: State of our jails has to be altered

Campbell was responsible for one of the most horrific crimes the Black Country has seen in years when he raped and strangled 37-year-old Lisa Skidmore in her Bilston home.

When you look at his criminal history, it is astonishing that he was in a position to commit this hideous act.

Just four months before murdering Ms Skidmore, the 56-year-old paranoid schizophrenic had been released from jail after a previous life sentence for a similar attack.

And just a couple of weeks before he came out of prison, Campbell had told a probation officer he was thinking of raping someone.

Sadly, this is the latest in a long line of tragic examples where evil individuals are given a free rein to commit atrocious acts.

Spare a thought for the family of Ms Skidmore.

Once again an innocent member of the public has been let down by a system that fails to protect law abiding citizens, but seemingly bends over backwards to make the lives of criminals as easy as possible.

In Campbell's case, the warning signs could not have been clearer.

The authorities must have known that he was a danger to the public.

This newspaper is not a reactionary organ.

We make no apologies for making Britain's criminal justice system a regular theme on these pages.

For numerous reasons, the law in this country is no longer fit for purpose in too many cases.

Hardened criminals must laugh at the pathetic sentences handed out by our courts.

In an election year, you would expect Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Tim Farron to prioritise bringing in more effective measures for tacking crime.

Yet up to now in the campaign the silence has been deafening.

The suspicion is that given a huge majority on June 8, Mrs May will carry on with the failed policy of grossly underfunding the prisons system.

The same lax attitude towards sentencing will persist and criminals will continue to run amok.

This is not a left wing or a right wing issue.

It is an issue of common decency that politicians from all parties must start to take seriously.

The Ministry of Justice is set to launch an investigation into how Campbell was able to strike again.

But many would argue it is all too little, too late.