Baby P’s killer mother WILL be FREED from jail
Baby P’s killer mother WILL be FREED from jail after just eleven years behind bars as Parole Board rejects Dominic Raab’s appeal
Connelly jailed at the Old Bailey in 2009 for causing or allowing death of her sonBaby P had suffered more than 50 injuries despite being on the at-risk registerDominic Raab slammed today’s decision, saying Parole Board needed ‘overhaul’
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Baby P’s killer mother will be freed from prison after the Parole Board today rejected Dominic Raab’s appeal.
The Justice Secretary raged against the decision to release Tracey Connelly, saying it showed why the board ‘needs a fundamental overhaul – including a ministerial check for the most serious offenders’.
Connelly, now 40, was jailed at the Old Bailey in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of her 17-month-old son Peter at their home in Tottenham, north London, on August 3, 2007.
Connelly was jailed at the Old Bailey in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of her 17-month-old son Peter at their home in Tottenham, north London , on August 3, 2007
Known publicly as Baby P, Peter (pictured) had suffered more than 50 injuries despite being on the at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police officers and health professionals over eight months
Known publicly as Baby P, Peter had suffered more than 50 injuries despite being on the at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police officers and health professionals over eight months.
Connelly’s lover Steven Barker was jailed in 2009 for a minimum of 32 years for torturing the 17-month-old to death while his brother, Jason Owen, received a six year jail sentence for allowing the toddler to die.
Responding to the decision, Mr Raab said Connelly’s actions were ‘pure evil’ and added: ‘The decision to release her demonstrates why the parole board needs a fundamental overhaul – including a ministerial check for the most serious offenders – so that it serves and protects the public.’
A series of reviews identified missed opportunities for officials to save the toddler’s life had they reacted properly to warning signs.
Connelly was handed a sentence of imprisonment for public protection with a minimum term of five years after admitting her crimes.
She was released on licence in 2013 but recalled to prison in 2015 for breaching her parole conditions.
In March the Parole Board decided she was suitable for release, having rejected three previous bids.
Today, the Parole Board announced the application had been rejected and the original decision upheld.
A spokesman said in a statement: ‘Following the reconsideration application from the Secretary of State, a judge has ruled that the decision made by independent Parole Board members to release was not irrational, as stated in the reconsideration application, and the original decision is upheld.’
The reconsideration mechanism, introduced in July 2019, allows the Justice Secretary and the prisoner to challenge the board’s decision within 21 days if they believe them to be ‘procedurally unfair’ or ‘irrational’.
Victims and members of the public can also make a request via the minister.
But the threshold is high and is the same as is required when seeking a judicial review in court.
The provisions also make clear that ‘being unhappy’ with the decision is not grounds for reconsideration.
Mr Raab intervened on the grounds that the decision to free Connelly was ‘irrational’, arguing it had failed to take proper account of some information surrounding the case and did not provide sufficient reasons for its conclusion.
The Parole Board added: ‘In summary, the judge has concluded that the panel did take into consideration all evidence mentioned by the application and made rational conclusions.’
Baby P, was tortured to death in 2007 by Connelly’s lover Steven Barker (left) and his brother Jason Owen (right) at their home in Tottenham, north London
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab (pictured) pledged in March to appeal against the board’s recommendation to free Tracey Connelly, 40, from prison
Connelly will be subject to restrictions on her movements, activities and who she contacts, and faces 20 extra licence conditions.
They include living at a specified address, being supervised by probation, wearing an electronic tag, adhering to a curfew and having to disclose her relationships.
Her use of the internet and a phone will be monitored, and she has been told she cannot go to certain places to ‘avoid contact with victims and to protect children’.
