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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Review call after inmates abscond | Review call after inmates abscond |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Calls have been made to review home leave for prisoners after three inmates went on the run on Wednesday from open jails in the Tayside area. | |
| Serious offenders John Cartledge and Simon Lister, and a third man, failed to return to Castle Huntly open prison, near Dundee and Noranside, in Angus. | |
| The Liberal Democrats said the situation was "disgraceful". | The Liberal Democrats said the situation was "disgraceful". |
| Scottish ministers said absconding prisoners were now no longer likely to be sent back to open prison. | |
| Cartledge, 41, is serving an eight-year jail sentence for serious assault, Smyth is a convicted housebreaker and Lister was sentenced to seven years in 2004 for assaults and robberies. | Cartledge, 41, is serving an eight-year jail sentence for serious assault, Smyth is a convicted housebreaker and Lister was sentenced to seven years in 2004 for assaults and robberies. |
| These inmates are meant to be in prison, not wandering around unsupervised in the community Robert BrownScottish Liberal Democrats | |
| Scottish Lib Dem chief whip Robert Brown called on Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to look again at the rules on home leave. | |
| "It is reasonable for people at the end of their sentence to move to less formal surroundings as part of the process of preparing for re-entering the community," he said. | |
| "But the bottom line is that these inmates are meant to be in prison, not wandering around unsupervised in the community." | "But the bottom line is that these inmates are meant to be in prison, not wandering around unsupervised in the community." |
| A review of Castle Huntly was ordered after a prisoner there, Robert Foye, raped a schoolgirl while on the run in 2007. | |
| He had been allowed out to attend an Alcoholics Annonymous meeting, but did not return to the jail when he was due. | |
| The Scottish Government said every abscond was one too many, but pointed out the number from Castle Huntly over 2007-08, 59, was seven less than the previous year. | |
| "In addition to the recommendations contained in the Scottish Prison Service review of the Robert Foye case, there is now a clear presumption against returning a prisoner to the open estate if they have previously absconded," said a government spokesman. | |
| Police appeal | |
| Ministers also said the value role open prisons played in rehabilitating criminals was recognised by previous governments and prison inspectors. | |
| Meanwhile, Tayside Police asked anyone who knows where the three prisoners are to contact officers. | |
| Cartledge is about 5ft 8in with blue eyes and short, fair hair and two scars on his left arm and a large scar on the left side of his nose. | |
| He is known to have friends and family in Glasgow. | He is known to have friends and family in Glasgow. |
| Smyth, jailed for six years and eight months at the High Court in Glasgow in February 2006, is about 5ft 7in with short brown hair, blue eyes and a pierced left ear. | Smyth, jailed for six years and eight months at the High Court in Glasgow in February 2006, is about 5ft 7in with short brown hair, blue eyes and a pierced left ear. |
| The 39-year-old, who has a number of tattoos, only arrived at Castle Huntly four months ago. | The 39-year-old, who has a number of tattoos, only arrived at Castle Huntly four months ago. |
| Lister, from the Penicuik in Midlothian, is 5ft 8in, slim, with blue eyes and fair hair. | |