A prisoner was released from jail after serving 18 years for attempting to steal a coat and mobile phone.
Initially receiving a 15-month sentence, Danny Weatherson, from Newcastle, spent half of his 35 years of life incarcerated courtesy of the now scrapped Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence.
Coming into effect in 2005 and axed in 2012, IPP sentences served as an indefinite custodial punishment with release of a prisoner at the discretion of a parole board.
Having finally gained his freedom Weatherson said: “I would like an apology and I think I should get compensation, but I think they should make it right by helping IPPs, not just let them out and nothing, and getting IPPs out of prison.
“We don’t deserve to be there for that length of time. They’ve admitted it was a wrong sentence to give out. It’s been abolished in 2012 so why are prisoners still in jail today suffering?”
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: “Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community,”
“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims,”
“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
