Lorraine Fraser, the mother of Tyrone Clarke, has called for a reform of the parole system to stop repeated hearings for her son’s killers. Tyrone Clarke was 16 years old when he was stabbed to death by a gang in Beeston, Leeds in April 2004. Four men were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, but two were later released on parole after serving their minimum terms. Nevertheless, they have been recalled to prison for violating their licence conditions. Every time this happens, the mother of the victim, Fraser, has to go through another round of hearings, which are “horrendous” and makes her “relive everything again”.
The Ministry of Justice has verified that two of the men, Anjum Amin and Islamur Rahman, who breached their licence conditions, have been recalled to prison since their release. Fraser claimed that Amin had his licence revoked three times. She said that the process is always with her and that some days she gets hit with something new, such as parole hearings or impact statements. She contended that parole boards are “outdated” and even after two licence revocations they still “get away with it.” She stated that after the second licence revocation, she believes that criminals should be locked up and “do the full sentence again because clearly they haven’t learned anything.”
The Probation Service confirmed that offenders receiving a life sentence are subject to strict lifetime restrictions and may be recalled to prison if they breach them. A spokesperson added that this process can be distressing for victims, so they have implemented a victim contact scheme that provides support, including important updates. Victim families are free to opt out of the scheme at any time.
Tyrone Clarke was killed in Brett Gardens, Beeston, near Leeds, after being chased by a gang of 20. He was attacked with metal poles, planks of wood, and CS spray. Four people were found guilty of murder by a Leeds Crown Court, but Qasim Majid, the fifth suspect, fled to Pakistan, and the police are still searching for him. Earlier this year, the daughter of Wendy Speakes, who was raped and murdered in Wakefield in 1994, started a campaign to reform the parole process. Tracey Millington-Jones stated that, like Lorraine Fraser, the impact of repeated parole hearings forces her to relive the trauma. She has faced four parole hearings in six years as her mother’s killer, Christopher Farrow, makes repeated attempts to be released. Joanne Early, the CEO of the Support After Murder and Manslaughter charity, supported her campaign and underlined that parole hearings “retraumatise” victim’s families and called for an extension of the time between parole requests
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