Some men never get the hang of fatherhood; they make the effort but never quite figure out how to parent a child. Others just never give a damn from the start:

A man who was released from jail so that he could donate a kidney to his ailing son was being sought in Mexico yesterday after he went on the run before the organ could be removed.

Byron Perkins from Kentucky was awaiting sentencing for drugs and firearms offences and facing a minimum 25 years in prison. But he was allowed out after tearfully convincing officials that he wanted to help his son, Destin, 15, who has dialysis twice a week.

Perkins was not wearing an electronic ankle bracelet because doctors told the judge who approved his release it would interfere with medical tests.

"He was crying, he was just literally begging the judge," a police spokeswoman told reporters.

"He told the judge, 'My son is going to die if I don't give him this kidney. He's so sick right now'."

Perkins went for hospital tests but vanished before his kidney could be removed. He had been freed on an unsecured bond of $10,000 (£5,800), which did not require him to put up any cash, prompting criticisms that local law enforcement authorities had been lax.

How Perkins managed to convince a court to allow him an unrestricted release is beyond me. It appears that he's done little in life except look out for himself. As sick as his son already is, one's heart has to break at his realization that his father used him to escape from prison, and has left him to possibly die rather than fulfill his promise to save his life. That's worse than the jail break itself.

Hopefully the law catches up with Perkins, and soon.

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