Maria Pearson, who was Britain's longest-serving female prisoner, has been returned to custody just weeks after her release from prison. The 70-year-old from Hartlepool was freed earlier in August after serving nearly 40 years for the fatal stabbing of Janet Newton in 1986, but has now been recalled for violating a condition of her licence.
Pearson had been released following a Parole Board ruling that she no longer posed a danger to the public. However, Teesside Live has discovered that she has since been taken back into custody after breaching the terms of her release.
Victim's family respond to recall
Upon learning of the development, Janet Newton's sister, Lynn Hamilton, told Teesside Live it was the "most positive update that myself and my family could have hoped for." She added: "I don't believe she should have been released after the prison psychologist recommended an open prison first as she was highly likely to re offend."
Hamilton continued: "The parole board need to take accountability that they dismissed recommendations and made the wrong decision. A lesson needs to be learned. I hope with all my heart that she stops in prison until the day she dies, there is no place in society for her, she has proven that by being recalled only two weeks after release."
Details of the original crime
Pearson, a mother of three, was 31 when she stabbed 23-year-old Ms Newton 17 times on Grange Road in Hartlepool. The attack was driven by hatred and jealousy, coming two days after Ms Newton became engaged to Pearson's former lover. Pearson had stalked the building society clerk before taking her life.
In 1987, Pearson received an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence, with a minimum tariff of 12 years. IPPs were indeterminate sentences with no maximum term, abolished in 2012 but not retrospectively. Her minimum tariff expired in October 1998, yet she had parole refused on nine separate occasions and was twice transferred to an open prison before being returned to higher-security facilities over conduct concerns.
Release conditions and recall process
In June, the Parole Board determined Pearson met the criteria for release. Conditions included residing at a designated address, adhering to a curfew with electronic tagging for one year, and complying with restrictions to prevent contact with the victim's family.
Following her return to prison, a spokesperson for HM Prison and Probation Service said: "Prisoners released on licence are kept under tight supervision. As this case shows, we do not hesitate to put them straight back behind bars if they break the rules." It is understood that a recall review will now be referred back to the Parole Board to determine whether Pearson must remain incarcerated.
