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19h ago

Parole Board Keeps Colin Pitchfork in Prison After Multi-Day Rehearing

The panel cited limited internal controls, poor insight into risky thinking, and insufficient progress to reduce risk for even open conditions.

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Overview

  • The Parole Board refused release and declined to recommend a move to open prison for the 65-year-old, convicted in 1988 of murdering Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth.
  • The decision followed a rehearing held over March 28, May 15–16, and October 3 after legal disputes over disclosure and procedure delayed the case.
  • Pitchfork lost a High Court bid in February tied to an allegation of sexual misconduct in custody, which the panel later found proven on the balance of probabilities.
  • None of the professional witnesses supported release, and the panel reviewed a Justice Secretary dossier of about 2,000 pages before concluding continued detention was necessary.
  • Victims’ relatives and local MP Alberto Costa welcomed the ruling, while the prisoner and the Justice Secretary each have 21 days to seek reconsideration.