RHYS DAD: JUSTICE SYSTEM IS A JOKE
Thug involved in murder of 11-year-old freed from prison
THE dad of murdered Rhys Jones has told of his fury after a gangster involved in his son’s death got parole.
James Yates was serving 12 years for supplying the gun used to kill Rhys, 11, but was freed.
Stephen Jones said: “He’s not a danger now? It’s a joke.”
STEPHEN Jones has accused the Parole Board of ignoring his fears over releasing the thug who provided the gun for son Rhys’s murder.
And the 54-year-old is certain gangster James Yates will still be a danger to the public, despite the official view he is no longer a threat.
Stephen is furious he and wife Melanie, 52, were not asked their opinion before the decision to free the criminal early was made.
The supermarket worker said: “He’s not supposed to be a danger to the public any more? It’s just a joke.
“We’ve not been told anything around the circumstances, as to the reasons why, we were just given a date. We were not asked to give a statement. I’d like to know how the parole board made their decision, nobody approached us and said: ‘What are your views?’
“Obviously, our views would be different to what was in front of them. Who sits on the Parole Board, what are their qualifications? Obviously they are not in touch with the victims. We would have liked to have been asked.” Yates, 30, gave Sean Mercer, then 16, the gun that he shot 11-year-old Rhys with as the youngster walked back from football training. Stephen added: “He has been released because someone thinks he is not a threat to society, but he will reoffend, he will be back inside. He is a career criminal, he is unemployable and there is not a great deal else he can do. “When they were sentenced, you think they aren’t going to be out until whenever, but the reality is they will be out and they will be enjoying themselves. The fact is, they don’t learn, they just go on to do something else. “When people only serve half their sentence it’s pretty galling, I’m a great believer that life means life. “Mercer should serve his entire sentence. If you get 50 years, you should serve 50 years. Mel and I are firm believers that life should mean life and you should never get out.
“We try to move on as much as we can, but we can’t. We don’t forget about Rhys, but you can have good days and good memories, then something like this comes up and brings it all back and we are back to square one. Rhys does not come back, but they can go on and live their lives.
“They have never given it a second thought, there is no remorse, they’re not bothered, they just don’t care, it is not a member of their family.”
Rhys died in 2007 at Croxteth, Liverpool, after being caught in gangland crossfire.
Mercer, 27, was later jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years.
Yates got seven years in 2009 for supplying the 1915 Smith & Wesson revolver used in the shooting.
He was initially released in 2014 but arrested two years later for drug offences and returned to prison. But Stephen said Yates could easily have been the killer himself had he not been injured at the time. He added: “In one police interview he said if he hadn’t got his leg in plaster he would have been the one to go down there. The fact he got hold of a gun so quickly shows how evil he is.”
Melanie agrees with her husband. She has said: “He may not have pulled the trigger but he was minding the gun. For us, Yates is the most evil of them all.”
It is understood a decision was made to free Yates before Christmas. He was due out yesterday. Under the terms of his licence he can not return to Croxteth and is believed to be staying in a bail hostel. During his trial he was heard to say from the dock: “All this fuss over a kid.”
The decision to free Yates came days before the Parole Board ruled black cab rapist John Worboys, 60, should also be released after serving eight years of an indefinite sentence.
Two of his victims have won a judicial review to challenge the decision.