Northern Ireland unites in concern over killer's light jail term

This woman, aged 31, admitted the vicious killing of Eddie Girvan, 67. Girvan was stabbed, gagged and bound by this woman at his home in Greenisland in 2016.

Henderson-McCarroll’s plea was accepted on the grounds of “diminished responsibility” on the grounds that she was high on drugs. But why is this a major mitigation?

After all, if someone does something terrible when they are intoxicated through alcohol, they will still serve a long sentence. The decision whether or not to get drunk is one that the culprit has made themselves, as is the decision whether or not to take drugs.

It has become pertinent to make an analogy with drunken viciousness in this case, because the general uproar that there has been over this sentence is shared by Niamh Doaln, whose son Enda was killed by a vicious drunk driver in 2014.

In that case also, the general public understood something that the legal system at first did not – that his calculating killer’s seven year prison sentence was too light.

It was increased on appeal to nine years, which was still too light but at least a move in the right direction.

Henderson-McCarroll is only due to serve three years in prison for her killing.

The blame in these cases ultimately lies with parliament, not the courts. Judges should have some discretion in sentencing, but should not have so much discretion that they can impose sentences that are far, far too soft.

Minimum sentences in a raft of offences need to be risen, and sharply so.

If that means more prison cells need to be built, then so be it. It is a rare example of public expenditure that should be increased at this time of fiscal constraints.