A 79-year-old man languishes behind bars, where he has been for the past eight years. His health is shot, he has had three strokes, he cannot speak, needs feeding through a tube and cannot walk unaided. His crime committed 46 years ago in 1963, is no longer a threat to anyone. And last week, the Parole Board recommended his early release.
As Anne Widdecombe rightly said: "The public must be protected, but the public needs protection from a lot of people before they need protection from the person that Ronnie Biggs is now."
Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, has refused Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs parole for being unrepentant about his crime making it almost certain he will die in prison.
A statement released by Jack Straw said: “Mr Biggs chose to serve only one year of a 30-year sentence before he took the personal decision to commit another offence and escape from prison, avoiding capture by travelling abroad for 35 years while outrageously courting the media. Had he complied with his sentence, he would have been a free man many years ago.”
He continued: “Biggs chose not to obey the law and respect the punishments given to him – the legal system in this country deserves more respect than this. It was Mr Biggs’s own choice to offend and he now appears to want to avoid the consequences of his decision. I do not think this is acceptable.Mr Biggs is wholly unrepentant... and does not regret his offending.”
Biggs’s legal adviser, Giovanni Di Stefano, attacked the decision as “perverse”. He said: “All the other Great Train Robbers served a third of their sentences, why should Ronnie Biggs be any different? Ten years is enough. This shows a side of the British Government that is perverse - it is a cruel and unusual punishment.”
Biggs was part of a gang of 15 which robbed the Glasgow to London mail train at Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, in August 1963. They stole a record £2.6m and one man was, unfortunately, coshed on the back of the head during the robbery.
Biggs received a 30-year sentence but after 15 months he escaped from Wandsworth prison in south-west London by climbing a 30ft wall and fleeing.
As Anne Widdecombe rightly said: "The public must be protected, but the public needs protection from a lot of people before they need protection from the person that Ronnie Biggs is now."
Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, has refused Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs parole for being unrepentant about his crime making it almost certain he will die in prison.
A statement released by Jack Straw said: “Mr Biggs chose to serve only one year of a 30-year sentence before he took the personal decision to commit another offence and escape from prison, avoiding capture by travelling abroad for 35 years while outrageously courting the media. Had he complied with his sentence, he would have been a free man many years ago.”
He continued: “Biggs chose not to obey the law and respect the punishments given to him – the legal system in this country deserves more respect than this. It was Mr Biggs’s own choice to offend and he now appears to want to avoid the consequences of his decision. I do not think this is acceptable.Mr Biggs is wholly unrepentant... and does not regret his offending.”
Biggs’s legal adviser, Giovanni Di Stefano, attacked the decision as “perverse”. He said: “All the other Great Train Robbers served a third of their sentences, why should Ronnie Biggs be any different? Ten years is enough. This shows a side of the British Government that is perverse - it is a cruel and unusual punishment.”
Biggs was part of a gang of 15 which robbed the Glasgow to London mail train at Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, in August 1963. They stole a record £2.6m and one man was, unfortunately, coshed on the back of the head during the robbery.
Biggs received a 30-year sentence but after 15 months he escaped from Wandsworth prison in south-west London by climbing a 30ft wall and fleeing.
He was on the run for more than 30 years, living in Spain, Australia and Brazil, before returning to the UK voluntarily in 2001 in search of medical treatment. He was taken to Belmarsh prison before being moved to a specialist medical unit at Norwich prison
Scotland Yard's failure to capture Biggs had been extensively, and gleefully, reported in the press around the world. The public loved it as the dectective, known as, "Slipper of the Yard" failed to get his man.
Did the newspapers and other media who profited so hugely from Biggs escapades ever give any of it to the one (unplanned for) injured man in the robbery?
According to Mr Straw: "Biggs chose not to obey the law and respect the punishments given to him – the legal system in this country deserves more respect than this."
Maybe it does, if one could respect it. But the vindictive treatment of a frail old man whose greatest offence, whatever else Mr Straw says, was to cock a snook at the British police for several decades hardly reflects agreeably on our legal system.
Jack Straw advices our judges not to jail violent criminals yet he insists a frail old man, who 46 years ago robbed a train and is now just months from death, must rot in jail.
Today Britain, has the reputation of been the most violent country in Europe - and even more violent than South Africa.
Releasing this sick old man would, I think, have been both a humane gesture and a relief for prison over-crowding. Two good deeds in one risk-free gesture.
My heartfelt sympathy goes out to Michael, Ronnie Bigg’s son, who has unselfishly supported his father. I once had the pleasure of meeting Michael in Palma, and was struck, not only by his good looks, but by his meek manner and courteous behaviour.
Michael, is another victim of Jack Straw’s “cruel and barbaric” justice.
What is your opinion?
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