OT Drink-driver given parole halfway through jail time for killing Mull vet
The father of a Mull vet killed by a drink-driver who has been given parole after serving just half his sentence has told of his anguish.
Trevor Wade’s daughter Theresa died in October 2015 when Thomas Wainwright’s high-powered Maserati ploughed into her van on Mull after an eight-hour session drinking whisky and cider.
Two years later, Wainwright was jailed for 12 years. He had been travelling at speeds of up to 95mph just before the fatal head-on crash in Craignure on the A849.
This week Mr Wade told The Oban Times that his family heard about Wainwright’s upcoming jail release in a “quick” call from the prison service.
“They were limited on what they could tell us, but they said his parole had been agreed with strict conditions, which included he could not come anywhere near us or go back to Mull.
“We would have liked to see him serve his full sentence or longer – we’ve said all this in letters to the parole board – but they’ve made their decision. We think letting him out early is a gamble.”
Last December, we reported how British citizen Wainwright, who spent a significant part of his life in France, had lost a legal bid to serve out the rest of his prison sentence in that country.
Mr Wade said: “We have no idea where Wainwright will go or what he will do when he is released. I’d be surprised if they let him go back to France while he is still on licence. We hope he will stay under British jurisdiction and that the conditions of the licence he will be under will be rigorously monitored.”
Parole Board Scotland (PBS) does not comment on individual cases.
However, the Parole Board will only start to consider whether or not to release a prisoner into the community as they approach the halfway point of their sentence - the earliest point at which they normally can be released.
It considers each case on its own merits and takes account of all the information put before it in considering whether a release should happen.
If released on licence, the information is also used to set conditions that would be appropriate for the prisoner. Those conditions are designed in each case to assist with managing risks. If a condition is broken, then the case can be referred back to PBS to consider if that person should be recalled to custody.
A person given a long-term sentence can serve all but the final six months of the sentence in prison, unless the Parole Board for Scotland recommends that they should be released.