Double child killer Colin Pitchfork to be freed from jail

Double child killer Colin Pitchfork to be freed from jail after appeal is rejected by the parole board.

It is expected that Colin Pitchfork will be released later this week from HMP Leyhill in Gloucestershire. He will have some of the toughest conditions ever set, but he will still be living in a probation hostel and will be near the public.

Pitchfork aged 61, was sent to prison in 1988 after being convicted of the rape and murder of 15 -year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth. His release conditions will include wearing an electronic tag and not being able to approach the relatives of his victims. He will also have restrictions around using the Internet. Any breach of these conditions mean that he can be recalled.

Barbara Ashworth, the mother of Dawn told the Daily Mail: “It’s a day I knew was coming and I’ve had to resign myself to, but I just hope that no other girl meets the same fate.”

Philip Musson, Mrs Ashworth’s brother, commented that: “I’m not an advocate for the death penalty but there are some crimes so great that that punishment should be carried out, and Pitchfork’s fit that category.

“I just hope that no other girl meets the same fate

“I consider the decision to release him an experiment, and I only pray that the people living in the area where he is resettled do not pay the price.”

Any breach of the release conditions mean that Pitchfork will face an immediate return to prison according to a Ministry of Justice spokesman who said: “Our heartfelt sympathies remain with the families of Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth following the independent Parole Board’s decision to release Colin Pitchfork.

“Public safety is our top priority, which is why he will be subject to some of the strictest licence conditions ever set and remain under supervision for the rest of his life.

“If he breaches these conditions, he faces an immediate return to prison”

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