The Yorkshire Ripper’s Nasty Secret: Photos
PETER Sutcliffe the Yorkshire Ripper, a 63-year-old mass murderer, killed these 13 women and would now like to be out of prison and living a normal life with a changed name and round the clock police protection, writes AGW.
The Times picture today of the victims Sutcliffe has been proved to have murdered.: From left to right, top row – Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, Patricia Atkinson. Middle row – Jayne McDonald, Jean Jordan, Yvonne Pearson, Helen Rytka. Bottom row – Vera Millward, Josephine Whitaker, Barbara Leach, Marguerite Walls and Jacqueline Hill. At least nine other women are thought to have been potential victims after he attacked them.
Yorkshire Ripper – Story File
It’s a legal tale. Sutcliffe wants to know if life means life since the judge at his trial said he should serve at least 30 years. That time is up soon. A doctor at the the maximum security Broadmoor Mental Hospital says he should never have been convicted of murder because he was ill and the judge says if that was the case there could be a case for over-turning the murder verdicts. He is unlikely to receive compensation for his years in the chokey.
He is never likely to be freed. No UK Justice Minister wants to commit political suicide by releasing him.
Sutcliffe does have a nasty little secret. In the hospital which serves as his prison he is known as Peter Coonan. Even nearly 30 years down the line, his life is not worth a brass farthing if he is caught alone by certain other inmates. He has already lost an eye and been slashed, beaten and abused.
A huge amount of public money is paying for this, hopefully, futile legal action.
If he is freed he will demand and get anonymity and police protection.
Even this tariff setting bid was supposed to have been held in secret. No-one was to know this vicious swine, or mentally unwell gentleman, depending on your viewpoint, was in court.
Mr Justice Mitting was having none of that in the High Court yesterday and lifted the order suppressing details of the case be held secret saying there was no reason why what Sutcliffe was trying to do should kept secret. Sutcliffe was to be identified. Another minor triumph for a sensible interpretation of the rule of law.
The judge said the psychiatrist’s report might also the basis for Sutcliffe to appeal against his murder convictions.
Others say Peter Sutcliffe is “hoodwinking” psychiatrists into believing that voices from God had ordered him to kill prostitutes. Not all his victims were.
He used a hammer, screwdriver and other bits and pieces to do the job.
If they do let him out, be very careful around Bradford’s DIY shops…you would never know.
The scars may give him away. James Costello, from Glasgow, did this to Sutcliffe with a broken coffee jar in Parkhurst prison on January 10, 1983. Later when convicted of grievous bodily harm and sentenced to a further five years, Costello shouted: “How can anyone use too much violence against the Ripper?”
In 1997 fellow Broadmoor patient Ian Kay attacked Coonan-Sutcliffe with a pen, blinded him in his left eye and severely damaged the right. Kay was ordered to be held “without limit” for the attack.
The Telegraph’s court report is here .
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Posted: 2nd, March 2010 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comments (6) | TrackBack | Permalink
