Parole board

Colin Pitchfork, the child rapist and murderer who was sentenced to life in prison in 1988, will soon be a free man.  On 31 November 1983, Lynda Mann was raped and strangled by Pitchfork in Leicestershire; on 31 July 1986, Dawn Ashworth was raped and strangled by him in a neighbouring village. Both girls were just 15.  The pathologist who examined Dawn’s body, which had been hidden under branches in a field, said it showed signs of a ‘brutal sexual assault’.  Pitchfork, who left his baby son in his car asleep when he raped and murdered Lynda Manns, showed no sign of remorse when caught.  I don’t trust the police and

Colin Pitchfork, 61, was jailed for life for raping and murdering 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in Leicestershire in the 1980s. Now the Parole Board has said Pitchfork should be released. The backlash from politicians has been swift. Local MP Alberto Costa said he was ‘appalled’ by the decision. ‘It would be immoral, wrong and frankly dangerous to release this disgraceful murderer of two children,’ he added. Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, who is said to be exploring the use of the ‘reconsideration mechanism’ to reverse the decision, appears to agree with his Tory colleague. But the reality is that Buckland – and Costa – have little power to stop