THE Gillam Street murders sent a shockwave through Worcester that reverberates to this day. On Friday, April 13, 1973, David McGreavy committed a crime of unparallelled savagery when he murdered, then impaled, the bodies of three young children on the spiked railings of their home.

The killer of these innocents - who were in his care while he acted as babysitter - was jailed for life and given very little hope of eventual release. Yet, just over three decades later, it appears that McGreavy is now being allowed out of prison on unescorted day trips in preparation for his eventual freedom.

This newspaper is outraged. What in Heaven's name are the authorities thinking about? Who gave permission for this grotesque insult to the bereaved?

It seems that McGreavy has expressed little remorse throughout his incarceration. Indeed, it would appear that this person has revelled in his own infamy by challenging Moors murderer Ian Brady to a fight to prove who was the more notorious. This is not the action of a man who has real regret for his crimes, let alone someone on the road to rehabilitation.

There have recently been moves to clarify the law as it stands with regard to homicide, perhaps with a view to adopting the American model of first, second and third degree.

But until that days dawns, the ordinary, decent citizen will remain perplexed by the mishmash of a system that appears to allow the very worst of criminals to be literally getting away with murder.