13-07-2021, 16:49
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#1
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Cable Forum Team
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 15,118
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Convicted Child Killer Colin Pitchfork to be Released by Parole board
Quote:
A man who killed two schoolgirls is to be released from prison.
Colin Pitchfork has served 33 years in jail for raping and murdering 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in the 1980s.
Last month the Parole Board said it was safe to release the 61-year-old, who was the first murderer to be convicted using DNA evidence.
This led to a challenge by Justice Secretary Robert Buckland which has now been "refused" by a judge-led review.
Strict licence conditions:
The justice secretary intervened on the grounds the decision to free Pitchfork was "irrational" because the Parole Board panel "failed to give sufficient reasons" as to why it agreed with the evidence provided by professional witnesses.
Judge Michael Topolski QC, who reviewed the decision for the Parole Board, said he did not consider it "irrational" and concluded the "application for reconsideration is refused".
He added: "This was and remains a case of considerable seriousness, complexity and notoriety. The terrible consequences of the brutal rapes and murders of two innocent girls will forever darken the lives of the families concerned."
Pitchfork's release will be subject to strict licence conditions.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We are disappointed with this outcome given we felt there were grounds for the decision to be reconsidered, but respect the independent judge's decision.
"Our sympathies remain with the families of Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth but they can be reassured that Pitchfork will be subject to close probation supervision for life and faces an immediate return to prison if he fails to comply with his licence conditions.
"The Lord Chancellor has launched a Root and Branch review of the parole system, which will report back later this year, and we are changing the law so that child murderers such as Pitchfork face life in prison without the possibility of parole as the default sentence."
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Disgusting decision. 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...e-57737050.amp
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