Nicola’s dad hopes her killer is kept in prison
THE father of murdered Curracloe student Nicola Furlong, has welcomed the news that Japanese officials are refusing to release her killer despite the fact that he could have been out of prison two months ago.
American Richard Hinds, then 19 years old, was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for strangling 21-year old Ms. Furlong in a hotel room in Tokyo in May 2012 but according to a report in the Sunday World, he has failed to rehabilitate in jail. The programme at Fuchu Prison was designed to create a sense of remorse for the murder but Japanese experts said they had only ‘a moderate expectation’ that Hinds could be rehabilitated. Documents obtained by journalist Patrick O’ Connell of the Sunday World detailed how prison authorities have not been impressed with the attitude of Hinds while serving his sentence. Hinds, now 24 years old, would have been eligible for release in November of 2017 but he failed to convince authorities that he was remorseful for Nicola’s murder. Nicola’s father Andrew has not been officially informed of the situation by Japanese authorities but commenting on the latest news, he said he is happy that Japanese authorities have exercised their right to keep Nicola’s murderer in custody and hopes he will be locked up for the maximum 10-year term.
‘We’re hoping he is not going to be let out. The thought that he could have been out living his life at 24 years of age is sickening to me. The longer they keep him in the better. I have never believed a man capable of doing what that monster did to my daughter is capable of changing,’, he said.