Murdered teen's family call for a law change after failed parole hearing

'Relief' after double murderer is kept behind bars

The family of a murdered teenager have called for the law on the Isle of Man to be changed to give victims more of a voice at parole hearings.

Sixteen-year-old’s George Green and Samantha Barton were killed by former abattoir worker Peter Newbery in February 2002; he was 23 at the time.

Two years later Newbery was jailed for life, following a trial, and was told he must serve a minimum term of 20 years.

The sentencing deemster told the unemployed man he’d shown ‘no remorse’ for the killings adding psychiatric reports made for ‘sorry reading’.

“Their content gives a chilling insight into the sort of young man you are,” he was reported as saying at the time.

'PAROLE' 

After two decades behind bars Newbery applied for parole and his application was heard by the Isle of Man Parole Committee earlier this month.

The committee is an independent statutory group within the criminal justice system and advises the Department of Home Affairs.

It’s made up of nine lay members which government says brings an ‘outside and independent perspective’ to decisions being made for offenders concerning their release into the community.

The family of George Green have told Manx Radio the application for release was blocked unanimously with professionals determining he was ‘nowhere near ready to be released’.

But whilst Newbery may still be incarcerated he is back on the Isle of Man.

He was brought back to the prison in Jurby, from a high security prison in the United Kingdom, in 2020.

George’s family believe this was in preparation for the parole hearing and, following its outcome, have called for him to be returned to the UK.

“We have to fight for George.” – Family of George Green

His mother Margaret Green and sister Jackie Christian have described him as an ‘animal’ who is still refusing to reveal details of why he did what he did.

They say they’ve had sleepless nights, and nightmares, in the run up to the hearing and been critical of the support they’ve received from the government.

Margaret and Jackie say they’re thankful for the continued support of the community but told Tessa Hawley they believe it’s time the law was changed:

Picture Credit: ITV Granada Reports

'PAROLE COMMITTEE'

The Department of Home Affairs has previously told Manx Radio it can’t comment on specific cases but would like to make it clear that eligibility for parole does not mean it would be granted.

In a statement it said: ‘In the case of prisoners serving a life sentence, there is no automatic release.

‘All victims of serious and violent crime are offered access to a victim liaison officer, the Department of Home Affairs also provides funding to Victim Support to provide care and support to victims of crime in the Isle of Man.

‘As part of the standard parole hearing process all victims and families have the opportunity to submit a statement to the Parole Committee which will be taken into account as part of their considerations.

‘In some cases the victims do not wish to provide a statement because it will be seen by the offender.

‘In these cases the probation officer will summarise the victim impact statement in the parole report to ensure the victim's voice is still represented in the parole committee's considerations.

‘The Parole Committee consider a range of information from different sources to determine whether the offender’s risk to the public has reduced.

‘Under our legislation, even if released, all life prisoners will be subject to licence conditions for the rest of their lives. This means if they breach the conditions they may end up back in prison.

‘The department and the Parole Committee are keen to bring the voice of the victim even more to the forefront of the justice system and will be working with victim support over the coming months to do this.’

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