Baby P’s mother to be released from prison
Justice Secretary says move to free ‘evil’ Tracey Connelly shows urgent need for overhaul
The mother of Baby P is to be released from jail as Dominic Raab said the Parole Board must be overhauled to “protect the public”. Tracey Connelly, 40, whose son suffered months of abuse before his death in 2007, is expected to be freed from prison within weeks after the board rejected an appeal by the Justice Secretary for it to reconsider its decision. Mr Raab is planning to create powers that would allow him to block the release of some high-risk offenders such as Connelly.
THE mother of Baby P is to be released from jail as Dominic Raab said the Parole Board must be overhauled to “protect the public”.
Tracey Connelly, 40, whose son suffered months of abuse before his death, is expected to be freed from prison within weeks after the board rejected an appeal by the Justice Secretary for it to reconsider its decision.
Mr Raab said Connelly’s cruelty towards her 17-month-old son was “pure evil”.
“The decision to release her demonstrates why the Parole Board needs a fundamental overhaul – including a ministerial check for the most serious offenders – so that it serves and protects the public,” he said.
The Justice Secretary is planning to take powers that would allow him to block the release of high-risk offenders such as Connelly.
They will allow him to overrule the Parole Board in the most high-profile and sensitive cases involving murder, rape, terrorism and “those who have caused or allowed the death of a child”.
Up to 100 criminals could be prevented from being released under the plans. Officials will sift through more than 600 cases a year where the board has recommended release in order to identify cases that could be reviewed by the Justice Secretary.
It will be part of the biggest shake-up of the board in its 54-year history and is designed to prevent a repeat of scandals, including the release of Colin Pitchfork, a double child murderer, and an abortive decision to free John Worboys, the black cab rapist.
Connelly’s son Peter died in 2007 after suffering more than 50 injuries at the hands of her partner, Steven Barker, and his paedophile brother, Jason Owen, over an eight-month period.
She was jailed in 2008 for causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person before being released in 2013. She was locked up again two years later after breaking the terms of her indefinite sentence by selling pornographic pictures of herself.
In his challenge to the board’s decision to release her, Mr Raab said it was irrational and that the procedure was unfair. He cited risks such as her manipulative character and the lack of adequate “external controls” to prevent her reoffending.
However, a Parole Board spokesman said: “Following the reconsideration application from the Secretary of State, a judge has ruled that the decision made by independent Parole Board members to release was not irrational… and the original decision is upheld.”
Connelly will have to comply with more than 20 licensing conditions, including living at a designated address, wearing an electronic tag and disclosing all relationships.
The board said the licence conditions would be “robust enough to manage Ms Connelly in the community”.
‘The decision to release her shows why the board needs an overhaul – to protect the public’