I imagine parents are exercising a bit of control over what news they watch on TV or see in the papers this week as two absolutely horrible court cases go on:
Dale Cregan admits he murdered two police officers and claims it was because the police had given his family a hard time in a previous murder investigation. He lured the officers to the house he was hiding in, shot them many times over and then threw a hand grenade at them.
Michael and Mairead Philpott are accused of murdering their 6 children by setting fire to their house. According to the prosecution, no one was supposed to die: the father wanted to set up his mistress for arson so he could get custody of his 4 children by her and keep the benefits they attracted.
I admit I'm baffled by these crimes and dread to think what they tell us about our society. That life is cheap? That guns are readily available if you want them? That the most important thing in life is money? That you can do anything, no matter how bizarre, if you feel offended? That however weird a crime someone can dream up, there will be someone around who will help in carrying it out - like the Philpotts' friend who helped set the fire.
So tell me: did terrible crimes like this always go on and I just never noticed? Or has something awful happened to us to make it possible for people to do things like this? I suspect that this kind of crime is the UK's version of the US school shootings, in which a small group of individuals feel entitled to sort life out to suit themselves and never give a moment's thought to the consequences of their actions.
And please don't tell me the death penalty would stop crimes like this happening - I don't think it works like that.
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