CHAPMAN SYMPATHETIC TOWARDS CRIMINALS

CHAPMAN SYMPATHETIC TOWARDS CRIMINALS

TV star DUANE 'DOG' CHAPMAN has quashed his hardman image by admitting he would set most of his captives free - because he feels sorry for them. The American bounty hunter stars in his own show, Dog The Bounty Hunter, on U.S. cable channel A+E, which follows the former convict as he pursues criminals who break their bail. But Chapman - who works alongside his wife, Beth, and some of his 12 children - states that if his partner wasn't around, he would consider letting the felons make a run for freedom. The 58-year-old says, "My wife used to take away my handcuff key. I'd probably have let 75 per cent of them go otherwise." The star's TV show Dog The Bounty Hunter was reinstated this week (ends24Feb08). The series was axed following Chapman's taped racial slur last November (07).