To think a 7 year sentence is not a life sentence

[viques]

Wendall Baker was convicted in 2013 of the brutal beating, rape and imprisonment of a 66 year old woman. He was given a life sentence, but the parole board have now decided that he is no longer a danger to the public and is to be paroled . The man cruelly and remorselessly brutalised a woman and subjected her to the most appalling ordeal. He is still a danger to women, someone with his mindset should never be allowed to walk free.

What is it with parole boards and rapists. Remember Warboys.

The conviction rates for rape in the UK is appalling, luckily there was DNA to prove his guilt, though it took two trials thanks to incompetent police and judicial work , but for heavens sake, once one of the bastards is behind bars is it too much to expect them to bloody be kept there.

The sentencing comments are available. The judge looked at a determinate sentence of 24 years which is actually a very high sentence whether you think so or not. It was reduced to 21 years to take account of the length of time since the offence, the fact he had two trials and his change in circumstances. The law says you serve half of a determinate sentence so minimum tariffs are notionally set at half as you serve the full amount, hence 10 years (later reduced to 8 on appeal- I imagine they were of the view insufficient discount was given to the mitigating factors mentioned, but I can’t see the appeal judgement to be sure).

The fact that he got a life sentence and not a determinate sentence is it itself an indication of how grave the offence was and how dangerous he was found to be. If you look at the facts critically, it doesn’t seem quite so sensationalist.

@Lockheart I have only recently joined MN but have been reading posts forever so I knew it would play out like this. You are absolutely right though, some people just don’t have the first clue about the very complex and involved processes and policies behind Parole hearings. They simply make up their own narrative and adopt it as the truth.

Appalling

Here here. It's the total disinterest in the details some posters have which is frustrating.

The country that voted to leave the EU

bananapop.

"Why don't you write to your MP, "already done thanks.

And yes, I fully accept that I don't know the ins and outs of the parole system, but being a human being I can see the injustice of an innocent woman's emotional and physical pain, loss of dignity, distress, mental stability and anxiety being only worth 7 years of her attackers life.

@viques

But then your complaint is about the original sentence / sentencing guidelines not the parole board. You are 7 years too late complaining.

Wales are now committed by people who are on parole, shocking new figures reveal today.

Failures by the probation service to supervise prisoners properly once they are released is now reaching crisis point, according to experts, with a 63 per cent increase in the number of homicides committed by ex-inmates.

The shocking figures have led to calls for urgent investment in the probation system, which is still reeling from disastrous reforms which placed some of the services in the hands of private companies.

Figures obtained by The Telegraph reveal that in the year ending March 2017 there were 613 homicides in England and Wales, 112 of which were at the hands of people on parole.

In the following 12 months, the murder rate went up to 695, not counting the 31 terror attack victims, with 114 killed by people on probation.

Over the two-year period, the number of homicides in which the offender was on supervision or parole touched almost 18 per cent and since 2015 the increase has been a shocking 63.3 per cent.

Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville-Roberts, who obtained the data through a series of parliamentary questions, said: "This is an extremely worrying development. The Ministry of Justice must implement its new reforms without delay. Preventing homicide by criminals under state supervision must be a priority."

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/05/almost-fifth-murders-england-wales-committed-ex-inmates-parole/

@bovary

Interesting information. Leave more questions than answers. What do you make of what you posted?

Wendell Baker is a recidivist criminal. His prolific criminal career began in the 1970s. He broke into this woman's house, raped her, broke her ribs and left her locked in a cupboard. She was only discovered because a neighbour noticed milk on her doorstep. She was unable to live independently after this ordeal and died five years later. What is an appropriate sentence for this?

Figures obtained by The Telegraph reveal that in the year ending March 2017 there were 613 homicides in England and Wales, 112 of which were at the hands of people on parole

Well, it demonstrates that the judgement of the parole board can be lethal.

My personal experience of the parole board is that they tend to be very risk-averse and are more likely than not to knock back for release if there is any doubt about the likelihood of further serious offending. They take their responsibility towards public protection very seriously and in cases like this would draw on evidence from a number of sources including psychologists and victim impact statements. I don't know the details of this case but doubt very much that the decision was made because they hate women or are overly focussed on the rights of the prisoner.

What is an appropriate sentence for this?

No idea. Personally, I think quite a long time. What do you think? That isn't the issue the parole board addressed though. Not that I'm defending them, I don't have the information to pass comment.

That is an interesting article. I see that the figures and stats are at least 2 years old though, and thankfully there have been some major changes in the structure of Probation since then with more to come. Although this seems to have turned into a Probation bashing thread, most of the people subject to supervision/licence get on with it without major incident. It’s also worth remembering that for every single case that makes the news, there are 100’s of other cases that are a testament to dedicated and skilled management by committed Probation Officers.

although this seems to have turned into a Probation bashing thread

Hmm. This seems to be a recurrent theme. Does 'bashing' mean citing a news item that states 112 murders were committed by people on parole? I would say the significant issue is 112 murders by killers who should have been kept in prison might be the issue. That issue should be subject to criticism and forensic examination. 'Bashing' is no reason to tiptoe around this lethal failure.

No idea. Personally, I think quite a long time

I imagine most people would agree that 'quite a long time' is an appropriate sentence for a recidivist criminal who rapes a 66 year old and locks her in a cupboard after breaking her ribs. Why is 'quite a long time' so often single digits? That is the question. And it needs to be asked.

No simple answer, look at the sentencing guidelines for starters. If you are genuinely interested in some of this stuff I recommend the "secret barrister's" blog.

There has to be a difference in the punishment for this and murder, otherwise such criminals will be given an incentive to kill their victims. Having said that, if the PP who said the victim never lived independently again and died five years later as a result of the attack, his crime (and its sentence) should have been upgraded to murder.

I think the whole attitude towards crime is much too lenient. Makes me angry that someone can break into my house and if I do anything to him I'm fair game. Nonsense

Even worse, if my dog attacks an intruder, he's fair game. Shit that!

Some people truly have more sympathy for the criminal than the victim. It's disgusting.

So long as there's sufficient proof that someone has committed a violent rape, beating, or murder, I don't believe they deserve to be out enjoying life with the rest of us. Don't really care if it's considered "humane" or not, tbh. I'd prefer them locked away forever and lucky they're still among the living.

@NeutrinoWrangler can you please quote anyone on this thread who has expressed sympathy for this man?

What is all this "bashing" nonsense on MN at the moment? Can't people discuss something without being accused of bashing a profession? I don't think 7 years for such a brutal rape is long enough and I don't believe he should be given the opportunity to ruin another woman's life.

@laureberthaud

I think bashing differs from fair comment. People making critical comments without regard for the details of what they talk about is not reasonable. And when that is done repeatedly it becomes bashing I think. The op who gave a slim overview of the case with a highly reductionist summary of the task of parole board. What is the point if her post if not to illicit knee jerk ill informed abuse at people who do a very difficult job?

@LaureBertaud I made that comment simply because it was NOT a discussion. I have already said that I would welcome that, and think it is necessary.

What this actually was was a stream of sarcastic and tenuously pitched comments from one individual that seemed to be made with the sole purpose of causing an argument. For what it’s worth, I agree that 7 years is way too short- but that was not actually the post that I was originally responding to. I was rather trying to address some of the misconceptions that OP has about Probation supervision.