Editorial: Mikus case, just throw away key

A sigh of relief will go up in our region with the news that Jules Mikus - probably one of the most objectionable human beings around - will not be able to apply for parole for three years.

If ever there was a person who did not deserve anything in life, it is this miserable excuse for a human being.

Mikus, as everyone around here knows, was sentenced to life imprisonment and preventive detention in 2002 after he was found guilty of raping and killing 6-year-old Teresa Cormack in 1987.

He became eligible for parole in February but was declined release because he was effectively refusing treatment.

Mikus was due to undergo a programme for child sex offenders next year but the Parole Board noted he continued to deny guilt, which meant he was not eligible for treatment.

The board said at the time that there was a high risk Mikus would reoffend and now it has imposed its toughest sanction on him by denying him the right to apply for parole until January 2015.

This can only be a good thing.

However, the decision does need some closer inspection.

One of the things that deeply concerns me about the decision is that this is the toughest sanction the board can impose.

That is unbelievable! This man committed a heinous crime on an innocent girl who, if she had been alive today, would more than likely have been an attractive 31-year-old, full of life and happiness ahead of her.

She never had the chance to experience the good things in life, because of the actions of a very sick man.

Even now he refuses to give the family the peace they deserve by simply admitting he committed the crime. Added to that, they now have to worry in three years' time about him potentially applying for parole.

It gets worse - the board may just change its decision and allow Mikus to apply for parole earlier in 2015 if there was a significant change in his circumstance.

In its decision released yesterday, the board said Mikus would "plainly not be suitable for release" at his next scheduled hearing in February next year, but said he was a well behaved low-medium security prisoner who kept himself busy in the structured prison environment.

This does nothing for me. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if Jules Mikus was released from jail at some point or another he would reoffend. He would target some innocent girl and ruin the lives of another family.

It is not often I would say this as I believe that some criminals can be rehabilitated, but in the case of Jules Mikus, they need to keep him locked up and simply throw away the key.