Australia: Trust a government to unleash a walking timebomb on a community

There ARE laws enabling indefinite detention of particularly dangerous criminals. Instead, the offenders are being protected!

A SECOND man convicted of the brutal killing of great-grandmother Marie Greening Zidan is to walk free next month - just after Mother's Day. The 22-year-old was one of two teenagers who bashed, sexually assaulted and strangled Mrs Zidan at her Seaford home in 2000. Neither of the killers can be publicly identified because of their youth at the time of the horrific attack.

The Herald Sun believes the 22-year-old has been granted parole and is expected to be released from prison in mid-May. It is not known what conditions will be imposed on his parole or whether they will include a ban on contacting the other killer, who was paroled late last year. While in juvenile detention he was allowed out more than 85 times for family visits and to get his learner's permit, despite having harassed his victim's family from behind bars.

The man was 16 and his friend 15 when they killed Mrs Zidan. He told youth workers he was "chroming" on a paint can a day leading up to the killing, and that he had been expelled from school for being disruptive and failing to show up at classes. The teens had broken into Mrs Zidan's home to steal money, but then terrorised the qualified psychologist as her intellectually disabled son, Peter, lay in another room unable to help.

The 15-year-old admitted he was there but said his older accomplice punched Mrs Zidan and smothered her with a cushion as he had tried to stop him. But police later found his DNA under Mrs Zidan's fingernails. The older boy denied he was even there, but told workmates he had "mugged a lady". He later claimed he simply watched as the other youth killed her. The pair were charged with murder but in a plea deal they admitted to manslaughter. They were both sentenced as "aiding and abetting" the other -- neither as the main perpetrator.

After they were arrested the pair called Mrs Zidan's daughter, Janine, from a juvenile detention centre. They left an offensive and taunting message on her answering machine. They were sentenced to four years' jail, but the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed and their terms were increased to nine years with a minimum of six. The men appealed to the High Court but it rejected their bid for lighter sentences.

The country's top judges slammed the deal that meant the actual killer did not have to take responsibility for killing the beloved grandmother. The first killer released, now 21, was given parole in time for Christmas and is living in an inner-city area close to nursing homes and schools. The Herald Sun found him but cannot reveal where he is or what he looks like now, even though he is an adult. Conditions of his parole include a ban on entering the region where the killing took place, including Seaford, Frankston and Carrum Downs. He must report to police regularly, stay away from the Zidan family, not use drugs or alcohol and obey a curfew. Repeated attempts by the Herald Sun for court permission to name the pair have been rejected by judges

Report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)