is this not the most pathetic example of misgovernment?

Jack Straw pleading. Pathetic!

Hoist from the petard of his own government's ineptitude and inability to recognise a looming crisis.

What the fuck did he think was going to happen to the rising prison population? Did he think that criminals might suddenly realise there wasn't anywhere to incarcerate them if they were convicted and so suspend their nefarious activities until the population dropped a bit? It actually seems as if this is what the government were expecting because they've done exactly fuck all to increase prison capacity.

I'm not 'for' locking people up but there's people, criminally or just generally insane, who need to be incarcerated for their own good and ours. If you can't do this then these people remain poorly contained to the detriment of society and particularly to those who have to handle such dangerous characters without adequate facilities. I feel for the prison staff.