Overview
- Reports on Friday say Pearson was returned to custody after officials found she breached a condition of the strict licence that allowed her recent release.
- She was freed in August after the Parole Board judged she no longer posed a danger, with conditions including a designated address, a curfew, 12 months of electronic tracking and limits on contact with the victim’s family.
- HM Prison and Probation Service said recalls are used to enforce licence rules and confirmed a formal recall review will now go to the Parole Board for a decision on continued detention.
- Janet Newton’s sister publicly welcomed the recall and urged the Parole Board to be held accountable, noting a prison psychologist had recommended a staged move to open conditions before full release.
- Pearson served nearly 40 years under an IPP sentence with multiple previous parole refusals and transfers to open prisons, and the case is likely to increase scrutiny of release decisions and supervision arrangements.