ON-THE-RUN KILLER CAUGHT CONCERN AS MURDERER WAS AT LARGE FOR THREE DAYS
AN Assembly member has called for the Department of Justice to ensure that prisoners who go onthe-run “pay a price” after a convicted murderer was returned to custody.
Police arrested Maghaberry Prison inmate Samuel McKinley in the greater Belfast area yesterday morning three days after he absconded while on unsupervised day release.
However, it is not the first time the 57-year-old from the Shankill area of the city, failed to report back to prison.
Ulster Unionist politician Doug Beattie said the latest in a series of similar incidents will leave many members of the public “wondering what is going on” within the justice system. “People who show contempt for the
system need to pay a price for that,” he commented.
“Anyone who absconds needs to face serious consequences and the system needs to respond to public concerns and demonstrate that it understands what pun- ishment, deterrence and public safety really mean,” he added.
McKinley is currently serving a life sentence for stabbing his friend Robin Stoddart to death during a drinking session in Southampton in 1996.
Mr Beattie said the incident is a further “embarrassment” for prison chiefs who came under fire in September for allowing five murderers to stroll around Newcastle following a walk in the Mournes.
They were accompanied by two wardens in civilian garb and returned to custody.
That same month notorious child killer John Clifford, who sexually assaulted his eight-yearold niece before strangling her, failed to return to Maghaberry after being on day release. He was arrested a week later in Newry.
Only last month James Donegan (30) taunted police on social media while he remained unlawfully at large after being granted three hours compassionate bail by a court.
Former justice minister Claire Sugden said the purpose of day release is mutually beneficial to the community and offenders because it minimises the risk of re-offending. However, the independent East Londonderry MLA also said the process needs to be “strengthened” to avoid giving rise to public safety concerns.
“What worries me is that absconding indicates that certain behaviours and attitudes have not changed — but I’m not sure what the answer is,” she said. “Maybe electronic tagging would stop it, but then you are punishing the vast majority of prisoners who will never break the rules.”
Ms Sugden voiced concern over the “very small number” of inmates who choose to “cut off their noses to spite their face” which she said raises profound questions.
“Evidence suggests some prisoners can’t cope with being released because they miss the social structure of prison where they get three meals a day — what does that say about our society?”
A spokesperson for the Prison Service said the largely successful pre-release testing scheme is a vital component of preparing inmates for release as there are no “life means life” prisoners here.
“This is a challenging programme during which individual prisoners are subject to ongoing risk assessments and review,” they said. “However a small number will fail the test and will demonstrate to us and the Parole Commissioners that they are not ready for release at that time.”