The titanium leg

The Herald reports:

Double-murderer Graeme Burton received a free titanium artificial leg worth $10,000 from ACC to replace the right leg lost when he went on a lethal shooting rampage two years ago.

He’ll probably use it as a weapon to bash someone to death. How about a paper mache leg? He can walk on it, but not clobber too many people with it.

But a proposed law change before Parliament would rule out compensation for anyone injured while committing a crime with a maximum penalty of two years or more in jail.

Criminals would still receive emergency treatment to maintain life, and rehabilitation to “restore function”.

ACC Minister Nick Smith said that under the bill, a decision on whether someone like Burton would receive a taxpayer-funded prosthetic leg would still be made by doctors.

“Burton is an extreme example. It will be up to doctors in individual cases to determine where that boundary is,” said Dr Smith.

“My hope would be that cases like Burton would be consigned to history. There’s not a bone in my body with compassion for him.”

Let the man hop.