Spite or right? Ronnie Biggs will probably die in jail
An utter lack of remorse last night condemned Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs to an almost certain death behind bars. Jack Straw ruled that - despite the Parole Board saying the frail 79-year-old was safe to be released - he must stay in jail. The Justice Secretary, whose shock decision divided MPs and legal experts, said Biggs had been 'wholly unrepentant' and did not deserve to be granted parole. snip Tory MP and former home office minister Ann Widdecombe said: 'The prisons are bursting at the seams. The courts are being urged to let burglars go free, but one fairly doddery and very frail old man is being kept in prison. 'If you have got a prison place, for goodness' sake use it to lock up someone who is genuinely a risk to the public.' But Mr Straw said: 'Mr Biggs chose to serve only one year of a 30-year sentence before he took the personal decision to commit another offence and escape from prison, avoiding capture by travelling abroad for 35 years whilst outrageously courting the media. snip Biggs had been eligible for release tomorrow, by which time he would have served ten years of his 30-year sentence. Now he appears doomed to die in jail, having had a series of strokes. He cannot eat or speak, can barely walk and last weekend broke his hip falling out of bed in Norwich Prison. Sources said he had deteriorated in the past 24 hours and medics classed him as 'poorly'. He will not be entitled to another parole hearing until next year at the earliest, by which time he may have died. snip http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196817/BREAKING-NEWS-Shock-Train-Robber-Ronnie-Biggs-refused-parole-wholly-unrepentant.html Whilst recognising that he was a "wrong 'un" I personally can't see the purpose in keeping a half dead old cripple locked up in a high security nick at great public expense. It's not as if he's going to hold up any more trains is it?
An utter lack of remorse last night condemned Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs to an almost certain death behind bars. Jack Straw ruled that - despite the Parole Board saying the frail 79-year-old was safe to be released - he must stay in jail. The Justice Secretary, whose shock decision divided MPs and legal experts, said Biggs had been 'wholly unrepentant' and did not deserve to be granted parole. snip Tory MP and former home office minister Ann Widdecombe said: 'The prisons are bursting at the seams. The courts are being urged to let burglars go free, but one fairly doddery and very frail old man is being kept in prison. 'If you have got a prison place, for goodness' sake use it to lock up someone who is genuinely a risk to the public.' But Mr Straw said: 'Mr Biggs chose to serve only one year of a 30-year sentence before he took the personal decision to commit another offence and escape from prison, avoiding capture by travelling abroad for 35 years whilst outrageously courting the media. snip Biggs had been eligible for release tomorrow, by which time he would have served ten years of his 30-year sentence. Now he appears doomed to die in jail, having had a series of strokes. He cannot eat or speak, can barely walk and last weekend broke his hip falling out of bed in Norwich Prison. Sources said he had deteriorated in the past 24 hours and medics classed him as 'poorly'. He will not be entitled to another parole hearing until next year at the earliest, by which time he may have died. snip http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196817/BREAKING-NEWS-Shock-Train-Robber-Ronnie-Biggs-refused-parole-wholly-unrepentant.html Whilst recognising that he was a "wrong 'un" I personally can't see the purpose in keeping a half dead old cripple locked up in a high security nick at great public expense. It's not as if he's going to hold up any more trains is it?