| Flowers in Gods Garden
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13/12/01 - Message of hate as killer
caged
by Phil Mills
Evil Roy Whiting was told to rot in hell after he was
jailed for life for kidnapping and murdering Sarah Payne.
As Whiting was led to the cells, Sarah's grandfather
leaned towards him and shouted: "I hope you rot
in hell."
The 42-year-old painter and decorator blinked back tears
as the judge called him an evil man who was every parent's
nightmare. In 1995 he was jailed for four years for
a similar sex attack on a nine-year-old girl he abducted
outside her home in Crawley and bundled into the back
of his car.
There were cheers in court when the female foreman of
the jury delivered the unanimous guilty verdicts at
2.46pm yesterday. Sarah's mother, Sara, collapsed in
tears into the arms of her husband Michael. Outside
Lewes Crown Court, she said the verdict did not make
the family happy but justice had been done and at least
Sarah could rest in peace.
Cuddled by Michael on the court steps, she said: "Now
let's make sure this stops happening time and time again.
"People are being let out of prison when everybody
concerned knows this is going to happen again. "Why
should it be on policemen's shoulders?
This is down to the Government and the Government only
can make the decision. We have a lot of work to do.
It doesn't stop here, it just begins." She thanked
the police, public, media and witnesses for their support.
Sara's mother, Elizabeth Williams, said: "He is
every grandparent's worst nightmare.
"It's so difficult when you have young children
not to allow them a little freedom but now I don't know
how you can do that. "There are so many of these
people out there and you don't realise how frequently
these things happen. "Paedophiles are evil men
and they destroy children's lives."
She said of the verdicts: "I felt relief and elation.
He will never come out again and that is what should
happen. "I don't think he will have a very good
time in prison and I'm pleased about that. "We
can never come to terms with having lost Sarah. As long
as we live she will always be in our hearts and minds
and she will always be alive.
"We will always miss her but her absence we have
to come to terms with." As Whiting, formerly of
St Augustine Road, Littlehampton, was driven away to
jail, a woman shouted: "Bastard - rot in hell!"
and slapped the side of the prison van.
Lewes MP Norman Baker today called for tougher legislation
to keep child sex offenders behind bars unless they
can prove beyond doubt they no longer pose a threat.
The Liberal Democrat said: "I will be asking the
Home Secretary to review this case to see what lessons
can be learned and whether there should be legislation
to make sure those offenders unable to prove they no
longer pose a danger are not released."
He said it could mean some being detained indefinitely
or until they were too old or had changed physically
and were incapable of hurting children. |
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