The parents of a woman murdered by a psychopath were shocked when a probation officer CENSORED their official plea to a parole board to let him "rot in prison".
Josephine and Douglas Manwaring were asked to prepare an official Victim Impact Statement when the man who killed their daughter Michelle applied for parole.
German-born schizophrenic Merek Thorun was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1992 after bludgeoning 25-year-old Michelle to death with a hammer as she lay in bed.
His parole application - the latest of five attempts during his 20 year term at a maximum security prison - resulted in the Manwarings being asked to write a statement to the parole board.
But the retired couple from Merseyside, say they were aghast when the painful letter they had draughted came back with suggested changes, watering-down their heartfelt words.
Among the ammendments, scribbled over the original letter, was the advice that the couple should drop lines saying how they felt Thorun should never be released.
The line, which is casually marked "take out", reads: "He should never ever be allowed freedom out of jail to be able to do it again, he should rot in prison."
Another which reads: "He may have bars on his windows where we don't, but we suffer a lot more than he does."
This line is struck through with pen, with the liason officer's mildly worded replacement scrawled above.
Josephine, who has four living children, said she felt robbed of the right to speak her mind about a man who stole her precious daughter's life.
Josephine, 68, of Southport, Merseyside, said: "When we heard about Thorun trying to get parole we were upset, angry and determined it should not happen.
"He's dangerous, he's never shown a scrap of remorse and doesn't deserve his freedom, Michelle will never be handed back her life, why should he get his.
"So when we were asked to write a letter to the parole board, a victim impact statement, we wanted to make these feelings absolutley clear.
"This is the way we have been effected as victims of his horrible crime - what else can we write?
"So when the letter came back with these changes, I just couldn't believe my eyes. They want me to write something which doesn't say how I feel, I just can't do that."
Mrs Manwaring, who cares for her wheelchair bound husband, said she know faces the risk of not having any input in Thorun's parole application if she refuses to censor the letter.
She said: "I've been told the statement can't be submitted the way it is.
"They say I'm not allowed to talk about him, but the question I'd ask is, how can I talk about him not being fit for release, without talking about him?
"As it stands, I might not have any input into the process."
A spokesperson for the probation service said the editing of victim personal statement's is part of Ministry of Justice protocol.
A spokesperson said: "The Victim's Personal Statement should bring to the panel’s attention any information about the lasting impact or consequences that the crime has had on the victim or members of the victim’s family or the impact and consequences of the offender’s release.
"In preparing the statement, the victim should not offer an opinion on whether the offender should or should not be released.
"The Parole Board’s decision to release must be based solely upon the potential risk that the offender represents.
"The VPS should assist the Board in making an informed assessment of the risks associated with releasing the offender, including any risk arising from the possible or likely impact of release on the victim or those with close emotional ties to the victim."
tommy, southport around 4 months, 1 week ago