Catherine Bennett’s article in respect of the Parole Board’s decision to release Colin Pitchfork misses the key fact he had been in an open prison for four years before the decision to release (“Can women rely on the Parole Board getting it right if frees men like Colin Pitchfork?”, Comment).
In order to get to an open prison, the secretary of state for justice had to accept the recommendation and did so. The Parole Board had a dossier of more than 1,200 pages and all witnesses agreed the release test was met. The rate of serious reoffending for those released by the Parole Board is just 0.5%, which is comparable to international systems. While the majority of the public may have concern about the decision, it is one that was entirely foreseeable given Pitchfork had been in and out of the community over the last four years.
The Parole Board will shortly have the ability to conduct parole hearings in public. This will help improve transparency and public understanding of the process.
Dean Kingham, committee member for Association of Prison Lawyers and Parole Board lead
