Murderer on run from open prison

[rory_20_uk]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Gwent Police are searching for a convicted murderer who absconded from Prescoed open prison in Monmouthshire in July, it has been revealed.

Lee Dewhurst, 35, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, did not return to the jail on 11 July, but officers only confirmed he was missing this weekend.

Dewhurst, who was jailed for murder in 1992 is the seventh inmate to abscond in the last three months.

Local councillors said they should have been told of his absconding earlier.

Police have warned the public not to approach Dewhurst, who was jailed for life at Liverpool Crown Court in 1992.

A Gwent force spokeswoman said that an investigation was launched as soon as the prisoner disappeared in July to find him, but at that time it was not thought necessary to inform the public.

However, Dewhurst is since believed to have been involved in incidents in Halifax or Huddersfield and it had now been decided to put out an appeal to help find him.

Gwent Police officers are working with West Yorkshire Police to trace him.

Det Insp Gary Stephenson from Calderdale CID, West Yorkshire Police said: "West Yorkshire Police believe he may have been in the Halifax or Huddersfield area during July and visited events attended by the gay community and we would urge people not to approach him.

Dewhurst is described as white, 5ft 8in (1.72m) tall and of stocky build. He has dark, cropped hair and balding and sometimes has a goatee beard.

News of his disappearance follows a number of other abscondings from Prescoed over the summer - including those of two child rapists who had just been transferred there.

These have raised concerns among local people and politicians who are arguing for a review of the policy of housing sex offenders there.

Local councillors who have set up a committee to monitor the prison said they could not believe they were not told of Dewhurst's abscond earlier.

Usk Town Councillor Tony Kear said there had been an agreement with the area's prison manager that they would be told of any abscond.

He said: "It just beggars belief. I'm just quite astonished, really, in this current climate that prison officials have decided not to tell us."

In July, paedophiles John Elms and Martin Aspinall were on the run for two days.

A day after Elms and Aspinall absconded, Marc Andrew Barnett, 26, who was serving a sentence for burglary with intent to steal, also left the open prison.

He was found the following day.

Later, a 44-year-old man who was convicted of grievous bodily harm failed to return from home leave. He was arrested the following week.

Also in August, the Home Office said a 33-year-old inmate - sentenced for dishonesty and driving offences - had failed to return while out on licence.

Following news of this latest escaped prisoner David Davies, AM and MP for Monmouth, criticised the Home Office saying it just did not want to know about the problems at the prison.

He said: "The Home Office minister last year Paul Goggins said that the policy wouldn't cause problems. He promised to meet with us again in a year's time. He's no longer the prisons minister but the policy is causing problems."

A spokesman for the Home Office confirmed that the prisoner is missing, but said it was now a matter for the police.

Sounds rather like bail without the bond to me.

Who'se great idea was this then? Expecting murderers to be trusted? Who bets that although all involved are very sorry, no heads roll over this mess (except perhaps some members of the general public).

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Open Prison is really an oxymoron.

So what actual moron expected it to work?

[Hepcat]

Complete madness, and after 6 they still didn't think that it might not be such a good idea.

Over here we have murderers getting paid money for mistreatment in prison and a life prisoner being set free for good behavior as well as people who WANT to go straight back to prison because they get good food, clean sheets and TV so they commit a crime to get thrown back in. BUT THIS!!!!

[Fragony]

That is what happens when psycholoco's are allowed to sit with the judges. They have such a hard time accepting that their field of work isn't absolute, oh no we lost another one, fascinating isn't it amice?

[doc_bean]

We lose on average one criminal every three days

[Banquo's Ghost]

Whenever we get one of these 'outraged of Milton Keynes' threads about an escaped prisoner, especially from an open prison, I feel my heart sinking.

The open prison system is there to help prepare inmates for their re-introduction to society. It occasionally goes wrong - name me something that does not. We never hear about the times it goes right, and an inmate manages to start a new life without incident. (Even murderers - there is a semi-famous actor in the UK, Leslie Grantham, who was convicted of murder and has since release, managed a fairly decent life - if you don't count the crime of Eastenders).

Before getting your panties in a twist, I suggest (once again) that one decides whether convicts will ever come back out into society. If you believe that all criminals sent to prison should stay there forever (and are willing to pay the economic costs for supervising so many people without hope) then open prisons and their ilk are clearly useless and dangerous.

If however, you expect that convicts will, at some point return to society (ie possibly live near to you and your family) then it is in society's interest that they be rehabilitated for this purpose, not brutalised. At present, most western prisons are simply schools for incredible brutality and learning how to live like an animal - with specialists in drugs, new methods of crime and dehumanisation. A large number of criminals go in illiterate and innumerate, and despite the opportunity for the state to rectify this with a captive audience, they come out the same. Instead of being prepared for a useful job which they might prosper in, they have learnt better methods for criminality.

No point in bellowing simplistic slogans about 'having it too easy'. Get upset about the schools of crime that your taxes pay for, and think hard about what you want to replace it. Remember, they are coming out.

[Fragony]

Problem is that psycholoco's think too highly of their work, and in their arrogance they try reintroducing them to the population when they aren't ready. If all we get is a sorry sometimes it works when it goes wrong, maybe we need different standards.

[Hepcat]

Banquo's Ghost does have a good point though. I believe that criminals can be reintroduced into society, though they can easily pretend to be changed. About 6 weeks ago one of the most interesting things that have ever happened on my street occured. Someone was shot!

The guy who killed the other guy had just gotten out of prison after serving part of his sentance for trying to kill the SAME GUY! Now there is something VERY wrong with that in my opinion. That killer got out of jail early and the first thing he did was to go and finish off the job. Doesn't that show that something is wrong with the justice system? Especially if he hadn't served his full sentance.

[rory_20_uk]

First degree, premeditated murder. Why do they need to rejoin society?

And concerning brutalising the poor, criminals who have done nothing wrong (erm, bar the crimes obviously but that's probably society's fault) and so need a good time to make sure they adjust. How does the army manage it then? You go from a tour of Inner Hell, and next day flown home to wife plus two kids.

So I am pretty bemused / annoyed about this state of affairs where for some reason we can cheerfully ignore society as long as we make sure that the criminals don't feel stigmatised by the crimes that they committed - the poor lambs...

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Rory, we don't have degrees of murder.

"Taking the life of another with malice of forethought."

It's case law. The laws on murder are in serious need of updating. While I do take Banquo's point I don't think it should be applied to murders, rapists and kiddy-fiddlers.

Clearly there are problems with the opne Prison system and with this one in particular. They're losing two a month.

[rory_20_uk]

Gah, upsetting how Americanised I become in spheres of knowledge that I have little more than provided by the good ol' TV.

[Scurvy]

I agree entirely with Banquo, the first aim of the prison system should be to try to reassimilate the prisoners into society...