To take the life of another person in cold blood is the most heinous of crimes. And to kill a young person, taking away their future, their hopes and dreams, adds another cruel dimension.
In 1979, Paul Carberry chased a man down a train carriage. He mercilessly landed five knife blows on him, wounding him fatally and leaving him to bleed to death.
Carberry was a teenager at that point. The man he killed on that fateful day was a fiancé whose partner was due to give birth.
It was a sickening, shocking, vicious crime that shattered lives.
Carberry has lived with it since. The stain never leaves. Even when freed from prison, his crime casts a shadow over the rest of his life.
Of course, we have to believe that justice, punishment and rehabilitation work.
People who commit crime in their youth can go on and become law-abiding citizens.
We have nothing but respect for those who put their hands up and do the hard work of living with the shame of their actions. Those who work every day to prove wrong the people who expect the worst of them.
But one of the key factors in rehabilitation is public acceptance and atonement for the crimes you have committed.
You have to live with it and own it long after your sentence is over.
Carberry is the celebrated CEO of one of the biggest UK children’s charities. He earns a six-figure salary, mixes with politicians and royalty, and speaks publicly about how we can rehabilitate vulnerable young people who have been drawn into crime.
Yet he has kept his own history as a murderer under wraps. The veil of silence drawn over his crimes is an insult not only to his victims but to everyone who has lost a loved one to violent crime.
Had he used his experiences to hold his life up as an example to wayward youngsters of how even the darkest of criminal pasts can be turned into a life well lived, it would be much more difficult to criticise him.
Of course, his charity has helped countless children. But there is one young girl who grew up without a father because of what Carberry did in 1979. For that girl, Carberry should have addressed his past publicly, owned it and truly lived with it.
Pay up, Boris
Boris Johnson has been busy since he left office. A lucrative speaking tour that spans the globe has brought in millions.
So why are we taxpayers still having to fork out for his legal fees?
Sources told this newspaper that the final bill could well be in excess of £1million. Earlier this week, Mr Johnson said he was the victim of a stitch-up over fresh Partygate allegations.
Fine. But if you want to argue the toss, you should pay for the privilege yourself.
