‘Role model’ killer could be in line for an early release
JUDGE CUTS MINIMUM TERM AFTER POSITIVE PROGRESS
A DECADE ago, he was jailed for a sadistic murder which saw his victim beaten with an electric socket and strangled in his own living room.
But killer Liam Matthew Shane could be free within two years after making “exceptional” progress behind bars.
Shane, now 29, was 17 when he and a friend beat 56-year-old William Ripsher to death in July 2007.
Mr Ripsher, known as Billy Buck, was kicked, stamped on and throttled in his living room in Relton Avenue, Walker.
The pair were convicted of murder and jailed at Newcastle Crown Court in January 2008.
Shane was given a life sentence and ordered to serve at least 14 years and two months – but that minimum term has now been cut by one year, after a judge heard the killer had become a “role model” in prison.
High Court judge Mr Justice Nicol said Shane had made “exceptional and unforeseen progress” while behind bars.
At the crown court in 2008, the murder of Mr Ripsher was described as “bullying in its most extreme form”.
Shane and his friend turned up drunk at Mr Ripsher’s flat in the early hours of July 26, 2007, torturing him in what prosecutors called a “brutal, sadistic and prolonged” attack.
The “inoffensive and well-liked” victim was kicked and stamped on, had a wire put around his neck and was beaten with a decanter and an electric socket block.
Ruling on a bid for a cut in Shane’s minimum term, the judge said he had started off his time in prison badly.
In his first three years behind bars, Shane, formerly of Dunstanburgh Road, Byker, had been punished for a total of 39 disciplinary charges. “However, in the eight years since August 2010, there have been no adjudications and the picture is now very different,” the judge said.
Shane had received “extremely positive” reports in reviews, which revealed that he had completed courses aimed at reducing his risk to society.
His offender manager, Claire Armstrong, described him as a “polite, mature, hard-working young man”.
“Mr Shane is now viewed as a role model for many other prisoners,” she wrote.
Cutting the term, Mr Justice Nicol said Shane is now “very different” from the young man who was sent down ten years ago.
“I am conscious that a tariff reduction should only be recommended if there has not only been progress, but progress which is exceptional,” he said.
“In my view, that is an appropriate description of the dramatic change which Mr Shane has achieved.
“If and so far as the progress has also to be ‘unforeseen,’ I conclude that is the case.
“From the descriptions of Mr Shane in the pre-sentence report and the judge’s sentencing remarks, it could not have been predicted that there would emerge the present young man.
“Nothing that I say here detracts from the tragedy of Mr Ripsher’s death or the appalling nature of his murder.
“However, there must be scope for reviewing sentences even for the most serious crimes when they have been committed by young people.
“Accordingly, I recommend that the minimum term in Mr Shane’s case should be reduced by one year.”
The decision means Shane will be eligible to apply for release in September 2020.