Please tell me this country is not run by lunatics.

With what seems to be an increase in sexually-motivated crimes occurring in our society, those who carry out such heinous crimes should be punished with the maximum possible sentence.

I was staggered to read recently about Warwick Spinks, a man found guilty in 1995 of kidnapping a young boy. He received what is, in my opinion, a lenient sentence of seven years.

Unbelievably, this was reduced to five years on appeal. Then he was released on licence in 1997, having served only two years.

He committed a number of sexual offences; he is clearly a disturbed and dangerous man.

Yet our judiciary system seems to allow these offenders to return into society at the drop of a hat.

Under the last Labour government, Roy Whiting was also released early from prison for a similar offence, having served two years and five months of a four-year sentence. He went on to kill poor Sarah Payne.

When are we going to get a grip on inadequate and unrealistic sentencing and give out appropriate sentences to be served in full?

Paul Johnson, Middleton Avenue, Hove