1st May 2018

PURDY: A perfect illustration of all that is wrong with parole

Wife murderer Dean Raymond Purdy is a perfect example of everything that is wrong with the parole system in this country, and the Parole Act within which the Parole Board is obliged to act. Purdy killed his wife almost thirty years ago, and has now breached parole several times after being granted the privilege of parole, and been recalled to prison. He is now on the run after breaching his parole yet again.

“Most people will say why on earth does this guy keep getting let out?’” said Sensible Sentencing Trust founder Garth McVicar today.

“The answer is that under the misconceived and overly liberal Parole Act 2002, the Board has little choice. The Act requires the Board not to detain offenders for any longer than is consistent with the safety of the community. And when an offender is recalled – even multiple times – the Board is still compelled to decide on an application for parole every year, unless a postponement order is made, which can be for up to five years”

“The Parole Board is between a rock and a hard place with offenders like this: even though it is obvious to anyone with half a brain that offenders like Purdy are simply not capable of being rehabilitated, the Board must act out a charade which pretends that they are” said McVicar. “If the Board keeps refusing parole, there are any number of so called ‘human rights lawyers’ eager to take the Board to the High Court to argue that their poor client is no longer a threat – even when he has proved multiple times that he is not fit to live in the community.

Funnily enough, the human rights such lawyers are concerned with seem always to be the offender’s rights, not those of the victims’ or the rest of the community.”

“Having said that, we wonder why the Board does not use its powers and make a postponement order regarding this man for the maximum five years. Surely the least the Board can do in the face of a piece of legislation that is clearly not fit for purpose is use the tool available to it to the maximum extent?”

“Dean Raymond Purdy is one of a relatively small group of offenders who ought, in any rational system, to remain in jail forever. It is up to the politicians to make law changes to allow that to happen, but of course that is never going occur under this Labour led government” said McVicar.

“They are focused on letting more offenders out, not making it more difficult for men like Purdy to use the system to get free yet again to terrorise the public. Shame on them” McVicar said.

ENDS

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