Sir, I wish to record my disbelief and disgust at the freeing of a multiple murderer, Thomas McCulloch.
When people kill they should forfeit their freedom for the rest of their natural life. If, as has been suggested, he has been rehabilitated then let him do acts of kindness to his fellow prisoners imprisoned for lesser crimes.
It is quite incomprehensible that this man will be living in the centre of our city or any city, for that matter where people shop and try to enjoy themselves. The block of flats he is to be living in is in the Seagate, across from the bus station, in close proximity to venues populated by our young people.
Why on Earth are we allowing this to happen? The Justice Minister (Kenny MacAskill), the SNP Government, the SNP administration of Dundee City Council could and should have prevented this from happening.
This is another enormous legal blunder by a Scottish Government that does not seem to care for the protection of law-abiding citizens; this inconsiderate act may completely change the fortunes of the SNP in this city and beyond.
The European Convention on Human Rights is being manipulated by people to their own advantage and should be challenged.
When a national court passes a sentence it should not be overturned i.e. not to be released for the rest of their natural life should mean just that. Because clever solicitors have manipulated the law to suit these people, I would like to suggest that if this man kills again then those who worked to get his release end up in the dock beside him.
Elizabeth Fordyce. 81 Ellengowan Drive, Dundee.
It’s wild space, Jim, but not as we know it
Sir, Jim Crumley’s beautifully written piece (Tuesday’s Courier) gave three examples of wild places which would not be protected by theScottish Government’sproposed changes in planning policy on wind turbines.
To Mr Crumley’s list of Flanders Moss, Tentsmuir and the Tay reed beds I would add the swathe of land from Loch Turret to the Sma Glen.
At the moment Perth and Kinross Council is considering a planning application for a windfarm on Mull Hill, which would crudely disrupt this wonderful vista of near and distant hills. The area is also the haunt of numerous bird species, notably red kites, lapwings, black grouse and curlews.
With seemingly limitless time and resources at their disposal, the developers are steadily whittling away at the objections of the statutory bodies.
I share Mr Crumley’s concern that, far from giving added protection, any new policy will, in practice, mean that any area not officially designated as “wild” will be under still greater pressure from the developers.
Robert Cairns. Eastergate Cottage, Harrietfield, Perthshire.
Wind, smoke and mirrors
Sir, Regarding two articles in The Courier on April 24, we protesters, fully justifiably, oppose the installation of wind turbines in the beautiful Scottish countryside. But however good our case in that protest, there are also basic problems which must never be overlooked, as the politicians, developers and landowners hope will happen.
Typically, turbine promoters claim their windmills “produce enough electricity to power X-thousand homes” but that is only theoretical and deliberately overlooks both the gross inefficiency and intermittency of theirelectricity generation and their paltry power output in real-life circumstances. Thus, the UK’s 3,5004,000 turbines contribute, in total, less than 5% of our electricity generation.
Typically, in relatively windless, anticyclonic cold weather, when most electricity is needed, the proportion falls to less than 1% or even 0%.
Wind turbines most emphatically do not represent “greener and moreenvironmentally-friendly power sources”.
“Green,” long-term, Scottish jobs stemming from “renewables” and any reductions in CO2 production barely exist and our money goes, in vast quantity, to the already rich landowners, developers and foreignmanufacturers.
Meanwhile, to meet EU regulations, we are closing down existing fossil fuel and nuclear power stations short of the end of their designed life and long before they can be replaced.
Installations of wind turbines must now cease. Rational electricity-generation policies are desperately needed, based on expert commercial and engineering advice rather than on politicians’ broken promises and faulty dogmas.
Dr Charles Wardrop. 111, Viewlands Road West, Perth.
Full speed the wrong way
Sir, Last year China opened one new coal-fired power station every day.
India is building and opening 537.
Scotland closed Cockenzie and Alex Salmond claims he has the best CO2 reduction targets in the world and issaving the planet.
When will this green and mega-expensive scam end?
Clark Cross. 138 Springfield Road, Linlithgow.