A parole board hearing is due to be held for former Margate man Dean Williams who was convicted of murder in October 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 20 years.
Williams brutally murdered his then-partner Mary, 40, in January 2005 in the flat the couple shared at Invicta House in Margate at that time. He then slept beside her body all night before finally calling police.
A post-mortem found Mary died from asphyxia, consistent with strangulation. During his trial in 2005, the court heard how Williams had a history of violence against women and had attempted to strangle a previous girlfriend.
Mum-of-two Mary, whose right leg had been amputated below the knee, was also subject to beatings, said her family, and alcoholic Williams would take her disability benefits.
The father-of-three had initially tried to claim an intruder had killed Mary but the jury saw through his lies.
He appealed against his conviction, but this was dismissed at the Court of Appeal in June 2006. He then applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) for a review of his case in October 2011 on the grounds that he had been suffering from psychiatric vulnerabilities that impaired his responsibility.
A retrial was held in 2014 where he was again found guilty of Mary’s murder and given a life sentence with a tariff of at least 17 years in prison.
Williams, now 62, is to have an oral review with the parole board in July. His ‘life’ tariff expired in March 2023. This will be his third parole review.
A request by Mary’s family for it to be a public hearing, which was backed by the Secretary of State, was refused.
Mary’s younger sister, Franky Dillon, said the family is devastated that there will not be a public hearing.
The mother-of-six, formerly from Broadstairs but now living in Ireland, said: “We are just devastated by the parole board’s decision to give him so much privacy, even though he’s a murderer who is (possibly) being let back onto our streets.
“They say if released he would be on license but reading through the judge’s summing up he was actually on bail for violence against Mary when he killed her, so where’s the justice? The public has a right to know.”
A summary of the parole board’s decision will be made publicly available.
Each year the Parole Board is asked by the Ministry of Justice to review the risk of approximately 900 prisoners with a conviction for murder.
For an oral hearing the panel will meet with the prisoner and other witnesses who will give evidence on the risk the prisoner poses.
They will consider a range of evidence before arriving at a decision, including the original evidence of offending, sentencing remarks and evidence of changes in behaviour and attitude achieved through the offender completing programmes whilst in custody.
There are three different potential outcomes of a parole hearing:
- Release – once the Parole Board has directed the release of a prisoner, it is up to the Ministry of Justice to make the arrangements.
- Open Conditions – the Parole Board can recommend that a prisoner moves to an open prison, however it is for the Ministry of Justice to make the final decision.
- Further Review (sometimes referred to as a knockback) – under current legislation, the prisoner will be eligible for a further review within two years. The date of the next review will be set by the Ministry of Justice.
no – leave him where he is , he is of zero use to normal society
What judge gave just 20 years????
20 years minimum. Also if he had done it in the last decade he likely would have got an even longer minimum term.
This pos should never see the outside again.
They have to release them to make way for drunk people making posts on Facebook.
No, they don’t.
Should have been hung In the first place would have saved a fortune in keeping the parasite, and when he’s out he will still be paid for
Hanged.
In common with .ost other civilised countries, capital punishment was abolished in the UK in the last century.
Hung, hanged you know what Thanet Lad meant! Anyway this country would be a better place if some of those in our prisons convicted of murder where strung up. The scum who murdered Sven Badzak in Kilburn in 2021 should certainly be high up that list!
There is a fourth option for the Parole Board not listed in the article and that’s ‘No Direction to Release’, and that’s a proper knockback. A further review is unusual as an unfavourable decision can be appealed by the prisoner and subsequent (or further) reviews are part of the generic parole process for unsuccessful prisoners after their hearing.