February 2020. The mother of a murdered woman has said she is horrified by the decision to release the killer despite his refusal to reveal the location of her daughter’s body. Marie McCourt has campaigned relentlessly to block the release of Ian Simms, who killed her daughter Helen. Legislation, named “Helen’s law” in her memory, was designed to require the Parole Board to take into account any refusal to provide information about remains when deciding about release, but the election delayed it. Simms, 63, is due to be freed after the Parole Board said he “met the test for release” due to factors including the “considerable change in his behaviour”. It would seem the Parole Board needs an overhaul as well as our laws. The pub landlord, who ran the George and Dragon in Billinge, near Wigan, was convicted based on DNA evidence and has been serving his life sentence at HMP Garth in Leyland, Lancashire. He has always maintained his innocence over the death of McCourt, a 22-year-old insurance clerk who disappeared while travelling home from work in 1988.
Feb 2020. Injustice in the UK
