Stalker, there is nothing in the article which suggests any sense of remorse for the harm done to victims. Maybe Bernie does feel deep remorse if so he would be wise to make that clear to set some context.

Society pays a massive cost because of the choice some make to commit crimes against others. The direct victims and the indirect, the people who die in house fires because they feel the need to have bars on windows to keep intruders out, the insurance premiums we pay to protect against losses we can't afford to wear individually, the people forced to work behind thick glass and talk to customers thru small holes cut in the glass etc. Those whos lives are damaged after having been on the recieving end of crime.

It is very counter productive when those charged with upholding the law break it, police who fabricate evidence, prison officers who act as corruptly as their charges. I'll be happy to hear solutions to those problems.

As for a former prisoner not happy about his lot when he appears by his own admission (if I've read the context of his article reasonably) to have been a high risk prisoner, well it is to hard to get all upset about that when he appears to glory in being a criminal and shows no sign of remorse for his crimes.

How do we ensure that the sentence that a prisoner is sentenced to is all that they receive? How do we do so without imposing a yet greater cost on the rest of society? I'd be pleased to hear realistic answers to those questions.

R0bert

Stalker “Those fitting this description and posting negative comments regarding Bernies recollection of concrete walls and razor wire should take heed to his words. Bernie does not have to apologise, justify or defend his past or present.”

Stalker has a right to express a view. I have a right to express an alternate view.

I know many people who work within the prison system. One of them in particular has done so for over 10 years. Their role included interviewing prisoners upon arrival.

Their view of “prisoner remorse and empathy for their victims”, the only prisoners who have any remorse are those incarcerated for culpable driving offences! The rest blame the system for catching them.

For those in prison who do not go home after their work shift, we should remember that they are there for a reason. They are there because they have demonstrated no regard for other people, no concern nor respect. If they did, they would not be where they are, incarcerated to stop them from pursuing a completely indulgent lifestyle of crime.

So Stalker, when asked who is telling the truth about what happens in prisons, one is faced with two differing perspectives, that of the incarcerated and that of the incarcerator.
Any reasoned thinker would observe the ethics, conduct and morality or the incarcerator has to be more reliable than that of the incarcerated. It would have to be a dark day when anyone would (or should) prima-facie, believe the word of a criminal over that of a prison official.

I further find it a funny anyone can comment to correctional services “Duty of Care”, although I know such matters are taken very seriously by the service in every state.

If the Bernie Matthews and Brendon Abbotts are examples, where is the “duty of care” that they have ever displayed and on which they seem to now rely? I would have thought such words would stick in their throats enough to choke them.

So Stalker, does Brendon send you postcards too?

Dateline:Phoenix, Arizona May 14th, 2006 Man kills High school sweetheart then kills self.

That's the headline. Here is the rest of the story. A man named Blevin was released one year ago from prison after serving a 15 yr. sentence for strangling his girlfriend to death. After killing her he attempted suicide but was apprehended before completing the act.

On May 14, 2006 one year after his release from prison he broke into the home of his High School sweetheart and killed her with a gun while her young son hid in an upstairs closet and called 911. Blevin fled the home and drove north into the desert where he killed himself with the same firearm.

Now, I pose the questions. Where was the failure here? Is it the prison system that let him out to kill again and obviously failed to rehabilitate him? How about the District Attorney who prosecuted him. Blevin was given a reduced sentence at the time on a plea bargain. Was it the fault of the person who supplied a convicted murderer with a gun? Was it the victims fault for not protecting herself from a man whom she had a High School relationship with?

There are many people culpable here, ultimately Blevin is responsible. He was determined to live a script he wrote for himself when he killed the first time, and no one was going to stop him.

King Canute, such an eloquent post. And so accurate. I hardly believe it but I agree with Philo! Well said.

And Patty (et. al). Nice comments too.

From a person working with the Justice system I can attests to a few things regarding gaol (or jail):

The incarceration of another is (or should) only be necessary when they are a danger to others. It should not be used for any other reason.

That it is used as a punishment for criminal but less dangerous persons is simply a waste of resources and damaging to an otherwise safe human being, generally creating a worse, more dangerous person that what went in.

Crimes fall into a number of classes, very few deserving of the kinds of places gaols/jails have become. There are many more ways to punish the criminal who are less dangerous. Our society just doesn’t want to spend the time, effort or money on it – ironically thereby creating a situation that wastes more time, effort and money.

There is more to be said but this is a difficult medium to discourse in.

Cheers all.

For the record Col – or is it Derek the 56-year-old born again bachelor? I'm a fully qualified journalist having graduated from USQ with a Bachelor of Mass Communication majoring in journalism. I was a criminal. I am now a journalist. I successfully made that transition despite the negativity of my critics.

In response to Andrew – whoops sorry Leigh! – one man’s garbage is another man’s gold. That’s the beauty of democracy. It’s called freedom of speech. You personalized your criticism with disparaging remarks about my photograph. What’s your point?

RObert you talk about remorse and victims of crime. Admirable sentiments. Perhaps you can explain to the forum why the Qld Victims of Crime Association – an organization dedicated to those noble sentiments - were caught with their snouts in the trough and were disbanded for misappropriating Government funds? It’s a matter of public record. You’ll find it in Hansard.

And the good ol’ boy sentiments of Hasbeen – bring back the death penalty. To date 121 innocent people have been released from Death Row in the US. If Hasbeen had his way they would have all been six feet under pushing up daisies. But then, what’s a bit of collateral damage in the pursuit of vengeance?

My recent article was written as a journalistic first person account of what happened, and still happens, inside secluded punishment blocks of State prisons. Men were not placed in them for crimes they committed in the community. They were, and still are, placed in them for security reasons, breaches of prison discipline or simply because prison officials have the power to put them there. I was trying to give readers a factual insight into those secluded sections that the general public never hear about – the Katingals, Graftons, H Divisions and Maximum Security Units – but apparently; if Leigh, Col, Robert, Atman, Mickijo, Hasbeen and Patty Jr. Satanic Feminist are correct, the general public don’t want to know what their tax-payer funded prisons are producing refering to remain blissfully unaware. That’s ok with me. But I'll keep writing anyway. cheers all

kilos "I'm a fully qualified journalist having graduated from USQ with a Bachelor of Mass Communication majoring in journalism. I was a criminal. I am now a journalist. I successfully made that transition despite the negativity of my critics."

We all have critics, I know I have plenty, so get used to it.

Alot of people have criticised Chopper Read for his entreprenurial diversions into the world of literature and creative art. Not me, if he can find a market for his stuff, then I wish him all the luck and every success, better he is weilding a paint brush than a pick axe handle (or worse) - same goes for you but don't prance around pretending gaols make bad people. Bad people end up in gaols and alot of good people are put there to guard them.

Because you are now gainfully employed in earning an honest income merely means you have, at last, achieved what I have spent the past 40 years doing. One difference between us, I do not consider it "special" or noteworthy for having managed to do it.