Star comment: Overhaul of sentencing is a priority

Today we report on the case of arsonist John Dalloway, who after being thrown out of a 21st birthday party returned to the house and exacted his revenge by setting fire to the host’s car.

The judge in the case handed the 30-year-old a prison sentence of four years and three months after he admitted his crime.

The Express & Star applauds this sentence and hopes the defendant learns not to repeat his reckless behaviour.

However, today we also report on the case of Stanley Wood, who admitted to a hospital chaplain that he had had sex with a six-year-old girl.

Twisted Wood expected his admission to be kept secret, but thankfully the cleric told a safeguarding nurse what he had said, who in turn reported him to the police.

The 66-year-old clearly thought he had got away with this heinous crime, and as his defence counsel so eloquently put, he was the author of his own misfortune.

All that remained was for the courts to hand this sick individual a sentence that reflected his actions.

Readers can make up their own minds as to what constitutes a fair sentence for someone who admits to three charges of sexual activity with a young child.

Yet for ruining the life of an innocent young girl, Wood was sent to jail for two years and eight months.

This is an absolutely pathetic sentence that means Wood could be back out on the streets in 16 months time.

It is the latest example of the courts talking tough and then failing to deliver when it comes to sentencing.

Judge Barry Berlin described ‘extremely serious abuse’ conducted over a prolonged period of time. He said Wood’s behaviour was ‘sickening’ and ‘perverted’. Yet the majority of right-minded people would agree that in this case, the punishment has not even come close to fitting the crime. Whichever political party gets into power on June 8 must make a thorough overhaul of sentencing guidelines a priority.

The current state of affairs is clearly not fit for purpose. It is an issue that has been skirted around by our politicians for far too long. Any criminal justice system should protect the victims of crime. In Britain we appear to have a policy of putting the criminals first.