Just been reading through some other parts of the site and came across Harold Shipman.

I met and spent time with him in Strangeways in Manchester, He was only on remand at that time and was not convicted. I must admit he did seem a very gentle and caring man, I was a "listener" on the wing and had a few conversations with him, though he preferred fred.

We didnt discuss why he was in there, just played chess, chatted generally about the routines in prison and what the procedure was for going to and from court etc. He had not been inside before.

The first day he came in I had the task if issuing him with his prison kit, we had eagerly awaited the arrival of this "monster" as we had seen him on the tv news that day he was remanded.
I will never never judge anyone by what the press writes about them again.

I would guess that most people in prison are far from being monsters. They are just fellow human beings who have either made a serious mistake or have been accused of such.

About 20 years ago one of my friends reading The Sun and I saw the main headline, which was about 2 inches deep, was the word BEAST! I didn't bother looking to see what the headline referred to. Even back then, papers like The Sun were just sensationalism.

I have no idea what the truth is about Harold Shipman, or any other convict, and I seriously doubt I would find it in a newspaper.

I don't believe he killed 150 to 600 people. He only got done for 15 typical media. My school mate mum had Shipman for her GP and she was happy to have him.

We will never know what happend as we are not Shipman nor his patients sometimes death can better than living if you mentally unfit or on a life support machine. I know JK caused a public uproar but it is kinda true.

Being a nice man...doesn't mean you arent a serial killer though does it? Nice man, chatty, warm and responsive...the evidence against him is overwhelming.

Sorry but I'm not about to vidicate doctors who were at least incompetent if not vicious.

My life and the lives of those I love depend on the first contact (the gp) as competent and not insane..

I believe Shipman was everything I am told he was...saying he was 'nice and chatty' doesn't prove otherwise.

I'm pretty fascinated by this and it's amazing to hear from someone who met him in jail.

I actually thought if I was old and on my last legs I love a kindly doctor to come along and send me off in a morphine haze.

But did he really kill all those people ? I'm sceptical.

I was very interested in the reaction of most of his "friends and neighbours" who stood by him and had bought flowers and planned celebrations believing that he'd be acquited. As soon as the guilty verdict was announced they abandoned him, binned the flowers, cancelled the parties and decided to believe everything that was said about him.

Talk about fickle.

I was going through a "Can't believe a word in the media" phase, so didn't properly follow the case. Apart from the old dears leaving him something in their will, what evidence was there to prove he'd murdered them? Was the evidence really overwhelming? I guess I could go google, but not sure if what I'd find would be entirely factual.

I'm getting way too sceptical.