When good people do nothing
"All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." It's an old cliche, but one which seems apt this morning. Just why did no-one call the police when they heard Moira Jones (right) scream for her life in a Glasgow park last May?
During the trial of the man who was jailed for life for her murder, a couple told the court that they heard the Glasgow businesswoman's screams... but did nothing. Taxi driver Frederick Graham simply turned round to his partner Margaret Boyd and said: "If someone's been murdered, we've just heard it."
So why do people not get involved? Miss Boyd the noise as "a girly scream" and thought it was youths carrying on in the park. Have you ever thought twice about calling the police? Many of you called Morning Extra today to tell me that you often feel it's pointless. What experience have you had of reporting your concerns?
And there's the other main issue arising out of this tragic case: Why was Moira's killer, Marek Harcar, allowed into this country when he had 13 previous convictions in Slovakia and the Czech Republic — 4 of them for crimes of violence? This is the second time in as many months a foreign worker with a string of previous convictions has been jailed in Scotland for murder. In February, we learned that Vitas Plytnykas, who was found guilty of murdering a Lithuanian woman and leaving her dismembered head on Arbroath beach, had previously been in Germany in 2001 after stabbing a man to death during an argument over money.
Whether it's taxi firms, bus operators or organisations who work with kids, many of you contacted me to express your concerns that there are few, if any, checks on the criminal records of foreign nationals.
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