Once again there is an article in the BOP Times dated November 25, 2019, with the headline 'Murderer's release a total shock'.

This type of article is becoming the norm!

When the hell are people going to recognise that there are both good and bad people who live in our society. It seems that the bad are given more recognition than the good.

Reihana murdered his ex-partner and her new partner in cold blood, also seriously injuring her brother-in-law. Reihana was given life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 21 years.

It is of no surprise that after serving only 14 years he was released on compassionate grounds because he has terminal cancer for which he has been given medical treatment funded by taxpayers.

Where is the compassion for the many law-abiding, decent people waiting for cancer treatment that Pharmac does not fund?

To add insult to injury Reihana's victims' families first learnt Reihana had been released after a cousin of one of the victims saw him at a relative's house. These families should have been told of Reihana's release beforehand and their names should have been on the Victim Notification Register.

Apparently this was not the case due to an 'administrative error'. The term 'we must make sure this never happens again' springs to mind.

R Cullen, Mt Maunganui