JUDGE Gerald Butler QC wanted to send stalker Clarence Morris to Rampton high security mental hospital for an indefinite period, or jail him for life.

It was a sensible and safe judgment. Two psychiatrists had decided Morris suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and a psychopathic disorder. But a third psychiatrist thought that Morris was not mentally ill, despite the fact that he had once raped a 15-year-old girl and ruined the life of 20-year-old Perry Southall with an eight-month campaign of "terrifying" infatuation.

So the judge's hands were tied. He was able only to jail Morris for the maximum five years which, with the time he has spent in jail awaiting sentence and licensing regulations, could mean he will be out in just over two years.

The judge fears the consequences as should we all. It is wrong that one psychiatrist can wield such power when all the evidence appears to fly in the face of his conclusions.

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