Prison Break: No Criminal Genius Required

by Jordan Yerman | June 18, 2007 at 12:31 pm

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A CONVICTED killer has gone on the run from HMP Castle Huntly three months after being transferred to the open prison.

Tayside Police confirmed George McKay, 55, absconded from the prison, near Dundee, on 10 May.

He is one of three inmates reported to have gone on the run in the last week.

McKay, originally from Glasgow, was given a life sentence in 1975 after being convicted of murder.

He failed to return to the prison after being granted home leave, but details of his absconding have only now been revealed.

McKay also absconded from Edinburgh's Saughton Prison 14 years ago.

Last night the Tories called for an urgent review of the rate of abscondings from the Dundee prison, one of Scotland's main open jails.

Bill Aitken, the Tory MSP for Glasgow and the Scottish Conservative's justice spokesman, said: "Open prisons do have a place in the prison estates, but in the case of Castle Huntly, the abscondee rate is far too high and the situation clearly needs to be looked at again."

From a practical standpoint, it's hard to muster a sense of shock from this: it's hardly surprising that a man serving a life sentence would attempt an escape when given such a clear opportunity to do so. When Paris Hilton is allowed to walk out the front gates, it's lurid and a bit funny. When a murderer does so, it's just scary. My overriding question here is, how many murderers are allowed to serve their sentences in such a lax environment?
(Michael Schofield had to work for it, although he had the advantage of being a fictional character)