According to a new study, two-thirds of jails in England and Wales are overcrowded. Here's a radical conclusion: build new jails. Alternatively, why not send prisoners to Scotland? They seem to be intent on freeing up space by ignoring justice altogether these days.

At the same time we hear that 50,000 offenders have lately been let out of prison on early-release schemes. For good behaviour? For having renounced violence and crime? For sucking up to the the Governor? Not all all. Released simply to reduce over-crowding.

With the early release of unrepentant crooks, like Ronnie Biggs, multiple murderers, like Al Magrahi et al what we are witnessing is the rise of decadence and decline of high civilisation that is always exemplified when justice no longer matters in a society.

Our general lack of giving credence to justice by acknowledging that guilt matters, that punishment matters is slowly becoming alien to a scoiety which decadently believes 'correction' and 're-direction' is all that counts. Look at how the US has changed the names of its prisons to 'correctional facilities'. That shows how much Western society is losing sight of what comes first. The trouble is 'correction' comes second, punishment MUST come first, if justice is to be justice.