It is about time some sort of standard was applied to the justice system with regard to prison sentences.

Now, before I start, any case of abduction, death or stabbing is awful, and change lives for all involved.

Shannon Matthews’ mother received eight years, and will be out in four. What she did was not excusable in any way. Shannon will be scarred for life. 20 years I think would be more of a punishment. Or, better still, life.

But life should mean life. This would drastically reduce knife and gun-related crime. In Croydon the stabbing of a young father has left a mother alone with two children. And the daughter who saw her dad being stabbed will never remove that image from her head.

How much knife crime do we need before we see proper life sentences?

When caught, many attackers get only 10 years.

The Oxford Mail reported on Tuesday that Philippa Curtis was jailed for causing death by dangerous driving. She was reported to have been texting while driving, yet was sentenced to only 21 months. She killed 24-year-old Victoria McBryde. Her family will grieve for the rest of their lives.

It seems that the only people who suffer are the loved ones left behind. How can a person who abducted her own child receive a longer sentence than someone who has killed, accident or not? This is plain insanity.

JUSTIN WALDEN, Hurst St, Oxford