Colin Pitchfork: First killer caught by DNA "should move to open prison"
A man who raped and murdered two girls and became the first person to be convicted using DNA should be moved to an open prison, the justice secretary said.
Colin Pitchfork, now 55, was given a life sentence in 1988 for the rape and murder of 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in Leicestershire. A Parole Board refused his request for release but recommended open prison. Justice Secretary Michael Gove has now agreed with the recommendation. In statement, the Prison Service said moving an inmate to an open prison did "not guarantee eventual release in any form", adding "public protection is our top priority". Updates on this story and more from Leicestershire Pitchfork, then 27, was jailed in 1988 after an unprecedented mass screening of 5,000 men in Leicestershire using pioneering DNA profiling. He admitted the two attacks and was described by the judge as "a danger to young women" whose crimes were of a "particularly sadistic kind". The families of Lynda and Dawn both called on the Parole Board not to release Pitchfork and a petition signed by almost 20,000 people was submitted to the panel. Barbara Ashworth, Dawn's mother, previously said she was concerned Pitchfork could harm a member of the public if allowed out of open prison on temporary release. "It's a process whereby he's released more gradually and gradually into the community again," she said. Ms Ashworth added that "life should mean life". Colin Pitchfork: Two brutal murders The lord chief justice at the time said after he was jailed that "from the point of view of the safety of the public I doubt if he should ever be released". Pitchfork was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years, but in 2009 the Court of Appeal reduced the minimum term to 28 years. Speaking at the time of the reduction, Lord Judge said Pitchfork's progress since he was first incarcerated "goes far beyond general good behaviour and positive response to his custodial sentence, but reflects very creditable assistance to disabled individuals outside the prison system". How DNA caught Colin Pitchfork The police turned to the University of Leicester's Dr Alec Jeffreys for help in cracking the case. With DNA profiling, originally used in paternity disputes, experts proved a 17-year-old boy's innocence before carrying out a mass screening of 5,000 men. Even then, Pitchfork evaded justice by persuading a colleague to take the test for him, going so far as to replace his passport photograph. But he was overheard boasting about the case in the pub and was eventually arrested. His DNA profile ultimately led to his guilty plea and 30-year term. In a statement, the Prison Service said: "The independent Parole Board decided not to release this offender. Instead it recommended a transfer to open conditions and that recommendation has been accepted. "Public protection is our top priority and transfers to open conditions can only be made after a thorough, expert, risk assessment carried out. "A transfer to open prison does not guarantee eventual release in any form - whether that be on a temporary or other form of licence. Before that happens, offenders must meet another stringent set of tests." The Parole Board will not recommend a prisoner's move to open conditions unless it considers it safe to do so.