The madness of our justice system shows why no one in Britain is safe anymore

Do we have anything resembling a working criminal justice system any more? Of course we don’t. What barely a few decades ago was a fully-functioning, internationally respected process of law and order has degenerated into a dog’s breakfast of institutional failure, feebleness, outright cowardice and general, utter uselessness. The law-abiding general public can only stand and watch on the sidelines, appalled, infuriated, and very often scared stiff. Where to begin? Let’s start with the curse of concurrent sentencing, introduced NOT to serve justice – in fact, it achieves the precise opposite – but, you’ve guessed it, to ease prison overcrowding.

Let’s say I commit a murder on a Tuesday. I go on the run, and commit a second murder on the Saturday. I’m arrested, charged with the two killings, and convicted of both. A judge sentences me to two life terms. Logic – and the public good – would dictate I serve first one sentence and then the other.

But no. In our mad, upside-down world of cock-eyed punishment, I serve both terms concurrently: at the same time.

This is two murders for the price of one, pure and simple. Yet we have allowed this insane sentencing policy – the antithesis of justice – to become normalised.

When I was filming in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT maximum security prison, all the killers, rapists and torturers inside were lifers. Not serving single life sentences, but multiple ones for multiple crimes. CONSECUTIVELY, not concurrently. Some consecutive terms stretched for hundreds of years in total, meaning these monsters will never be let out.

When I told officials about our policy of concurrent sentencing, they genuinely thought I was making it up. When they realised I wasn’t, they touched their temples. “Loco! Demente!”

Then there’s our utterly random operation of bail. TV licence non-payers can find themselves remanded in custody. Multiple rapists and sex killers such as Simon Levy, finally jailed on a full-life term this week (there’s a rarity) for his horrific crimes, murdered two women and raped and almost killed a third while out on bail for MULTIPLE sex attacks. That’s not just institutionalised stupidity; that’s close to institutional wickedness.

At least Levy was in court to hear his sentence. How did we find ourselves in the ludicrous position of allowing criminals of all description to refuse to appear in the dock, but sit sullenly in their cells during both trial and sentencing? Why don’t judges order them to be present, shackled if need be?

And if they kick off in the dock, given immediate six-month prison terms to be added to whatever sentence they eventually receive? And maybe a spell in solitary. That would quieten them down.

As for allowing killers, violent domestic abusers and the like to walk free years ahead of time because prisons are getting full…

I refer you back to those officials in El Salvador.

‘Loco! Demente!’

Stay tuned!

I was on assignment for the Express this week, conducting my first newspaper interview since my long-ago days with the Press. So, it was to deepest Somerset, and Straw Dogs actress Susan George’s beautiful, remote Arabian horse farm.

The story: Susan and the man who has photographed her throughout her fabulous career since she was a teenager, acclaimed photographer Brian Aris, are putting the finishing touches to a remarkable book due to be published later this year.

“Smile” is a collection of dozens of stunning images of Susan from 1969 to the present day. We see her with partners, such as the singer Jack Jones, but most importantly with the absolute love of her life, actor Simon MacCorkindale, who died tragically early 16 years ago.

We discussed Susan’s memories as she gave me a tour of her farm, where I met some of her glorious, beautiful white horses, mostly mares (“my girls” she calls them, with deep affection).

It was a fascinating interview and will appear in full in your Daily Express very soon. As for the photos – I promise you this; they’ll knock your socks off.

Perfectly understandable

Never mind kitchen colanders and sheets of white card; this was nature’s pinhole camera throwing multiple eclipse images onto my garage door on Wednesday evening, just after 7pm. The trees immediately opposite were allowing shafts of muted sunlight through their leafy canopies and this was the almost surreal result.

Of course, we all knew this eclipse was coming. Yet before the age of astronomy, the ancient peoples really didn’t. No wonder eclipses, silently arriving with no warning, scared the life out of them.