With fear at fever pitch in Ipswich as numbers of missing and murdered prostitutes increase, people should be aware that nine killers have escaped from two nearby Suffolk jails in the past six years – and three of them are still at large, including one who has been on the run for four years. Could the latest killer be one of them?
Richard Spring, Conservative MP for West Suffolk, has called for an inquiry into the high number of killers who have absconded, as well as submitting a written Parliamentary question demanding an explanation following the audacious escape of murderer Mark Ryder (pic left) two months ago. He gave prison guards the slip while shopping in Debenhams in Cambridge, he had been based at Highpoint Prison, Haverhill.
Ryder, described as “a violent criminal”, shot his childhood friend to death in Brighton in 1993. The shooting happened while he was on the run after evading prison guards in 1991 when he was taken on a boating trip from Lewes Prison where he had been serving a prison sentence for stealing cars. So he has twice absconded.
The other two killers still on the run are Lawrence Hughes, (right) who strangled his girlfriend in 1995 and was last seen in March 2002, and Michael Walsh, who had served 31 years of his life sentence, but vanished three weeks ago while on temporary release in South Yorkshire. They were both serving life sentences at Hollesley Bay Open Unit near Woodbridge, where eight of the 9 killers who absconded were based.
Since 2001, a staggering 106 criminals have escaped from Hollesley Bay Open Unit, which mainly houses low-risk prisoners, or those approaching the end of their sentences.
A very perturbed Richard Spring has asked prisons minister Gerry Sutcliffe, for an inquiry into the large number of absconding murderers in Suffolk, he believes that guidelines should be reviewed.
And he has also submitted a written Parliamentary question demanding an explanation about Ryder’s escape having “lost patience” when answers were not forthcoming despite promises:
“The whole thing has been a disgrace and an embarrassment. We can never have a situation like this again. When someone has absconded before (as Ryder had) it is just fantastic to allow them to do the same thing again.”
One gets the impression that the Home Office doesn’t give a jot, that it is clueless and inept at running prisons. Is there any pressure to return these killers to prison?
It seems Suffolk is not alone. I hope Richard Spring asks how many convicted killers are on the loose in the UK, how long they have they absconded for and what measurers are being taken to track them down.
While police in Ipswich believe a serial killer could be on the loose and may be local, they can’t rule out those killers who have absconded. How safe would you feel if you knew so many killers had escaped from prisons near you, that some of them were still at large?
P.S. The reason I have been following this closely from the beginning is because I live just over 1 hours drive away and know the area reasonably well.
(The post on female suicide bombers will come tomorrow)
Reports like this always invoke justifiable outrage, and the Home Office must be rightly held to account. However, I sometimes wonder if it is fair to always blame the Government in power? Surely it must “care a jot”? Would not incidents of this kind be likely to happen whoever was in government? It is axiomatic that resources (i.e. tax payers’ money) are limited and it is only in an ideal world that there is enough to go round to fund every institution to perfection.
Well Jim, the buck has to stop somewhere, and that is usually at the highest level. At the end of the day, it is for the Home Office to say that this high level of absconding murderers is not acceptable, that they want them caught and the measures they are taking to do this, do you ever hear them say that? Surely the public is entitled to know how many killers have absconded from our prisons, and which ones.
I don’t believe police have the manpower or resources to track them down, they are relying on the public to hand them in, or they will be caught reoffending – hopefully, not another murder.
It is wrong to claim that prisoners escape from an open or resettlement prison, or from accompanied escorts under the Release On Temporary Licence (ROTL) scheme, the correct and legal term is abscond. There are legal and political reasons for this distinction. It might be argued that the Home Office has accounted for these absconders by announcing that they have absconded. We need to be careful in the present poisonous climate of overreacting to hype. The lock em up and throw away the key brigade, I would argue, are more dangerous than these few absconders.
Serial killers apart, the odds of a killer being a risk to life or limb, at this stage of the game, are very minimal. It does not help matters when one happens, because it is fatal. But, this then gets blown out of all proportion by the red tops, and we end up with a climate of fear. If we are not going to lock prisoners up and throw away the key, it follows that at some stage that they will be released. They are assessed for level of dangerousness throughout their sentence, and by the time they get to open prison, their risk level is minimal. The Home Office cannot make a song and dance of it because if they claimed that the prisoners were still dangerous, it begs the question why are they in an open prison? The Home Office policy is to do nothing and wait until they hand themselves in or are caught by the police.
In the report, there is mention of Michael Walsh, who has served 31 years of his life sentence. I am disappointed to hear that Mickey has gone on the run again. As I understand it, his tariff was set at 20 years. Why is he even in prison 11 years after he should have been released? My tariff was set at 15 years, and yet I served 25 years. There is time for the crime, but no room in our system for more than just desserts. The system should have to justify why so many lifers are kept in prison for longer than they deserve if we are talking about justice.
…The post on female suicide bombers will come tomorrow…
Ellee, this is now tomorrow.
[…] Home Office must account for 9 killers who escaped in Suffolk […]