The public were outraged in August 2012 when James Robert Hall (no relation) was sentenced to 12 months' home detention for breaking his baby daughter's legs in five places.
The report published in Hawke's Bay Today was followed by letters and texts to the editor and comments online from people all over the country calling for justice to be done.
Such was the outcry that in November of 2012 Hall had the sentence quashed by the Court Of Appeal and he was instead sentenced to a term of two years and five months' imprisonment.
Still a light sentence in a lot of people's eyes but it seemed to satisfy the public.
However, on January 21 this year Hall was released from prison on parole after serving less than half his sentence.
The Parole Board said he posed a moderate to low risk of violent re-offending and said he had worked hard to address the issues which led to his offending, while not causing any problems in custody.
His parole conditions include no contact, directly or indirectly, with the victims of his offending without approval from his probation officer and he is also not permitted to have sole care of any child under the age of five.
That's all very well and good but parole conditions don't last forever and I'm sure he did work hard to address his problems in prison.
I would, too, if I was in jail. I'd be on my very best behaviour, I'd do exactly as I was told... anything to get the hell out of there.
What worries me, though, is that Hall is a young man in the prime of his life.
Sooner or later he is going to meet someone and more than likely have more babies.
When women are jailed or come to the attention of CYF for harming or neglecting their children they have a "record".
I'm sure any subsequent children are monitored.
Now I know this doesn't always work, and sometimes these people slip beneath the radar, but generally there are people watching out for these at risk children.
When Hall becomes a father again, whether it's in 12 months or five years, who is going to be watching out for his babies?
The mother... maybe she won't know his history?
I know everyone deserves a second chance but, unfortunately for Hall, his crime has caught the attention of the entire nation.
In these days of social media opinion has taken on a whole new meaning.
It's not just columnists and letter writes that put their thoughts out there. It's everyone with five minutes to read a story then comment on Facebook, websites or tweets.
There is also much controversy in the media at the moment about the smacking laws. Are they working or not?
Again, everyone has an opinion.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - the smacking laws are not going to stop people beating their children. It might stop the law-abiding parents from smacking their children in public but it's not going to stop the people who abuse their children behind closed doors.
It's people like Hall who drive this message home.
No law in the land would have stopped him from doing what he did. Let's hope the consequences of what he did were enough to prevent him ever thinking about harming another human being.