Last week we heard about Mr. Perry Wharrie who was sentenced to life imprisonment in England in 1989 for his part in an armed robbery in which an off duty policeman was shot and killed. He was released on parole in 2006 and in 2008 he was sentenced to thirty years in prison in Ireland but had that reduced by thirteen years recently on appeal. The Court of Criminal Appeal said that the sentencing judge had made a mistake because he didn’t give any credit to Wharrie for “refraining from giving false evidence at his trial”.
This week we hear about Mr. Jeffrey Dumbrell who is currently serving a life sentence in Wheatfield Prison and has convictions for murder, assault and theft. A violent character by the sound of it so when he told a prison officer that he was going to rip his head off, the prison officer rightly took the threat seriously and made a complaint to the gardai.
Dumbrell was sentenced to three and a half years for the threat but it can’t be added on to his existing sentence so it will run concurrently. Why can’t it be added on I hear you scream? Well let me explain. Actually, I’ll rephrase that, I will tell you why and then you can try to figure it out for yourself.
The courts have ruled that Dumbrell cannot have his life sentence extended because technically a life sentence never ends. When life sentence prisoners are released they are released on what is called ‘permanent temporary release’.
The Judge said that prison officers cannot be allowed to be threatened in such a serious manner and have to be protected.
I’m sure that the prison officer concerned, and his colleagues, will feel much safer going about their daily business now that they have this protection. I just hope it’s not the permanent temporary type.