The murder of Richard Whelan

[Mark Gobell]

You privatise our data
then lose our identities

You privatise our prisoners
they kill us on release . . .

The murder of Richard Whelan


Probe into killer wrongly freed
Paul R Taylor
23/11/2007

A MAN with paranoid schizophrenia stabbed a bus passenger to death just hours after being wrongly released from a Greater Manchester prison.

Anthony Joseph, 23, stabbed Richard Whelan through the heart on the day he was freed from HMP Forest Bank in Salford.

Joseph, of Islington, north London, had denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility but admitted manslaughter at the Old Bailey yesterday.

Joseph should not have been released from Forest Bank because there was an outstanding arrest warrant for him.

Now the privately run 800-place category B prison in Pendlebury will be at the centre of a government inquiry into why Joseph was let out.

Joseph attacked Mr Whelan on a London bus on July 29, 2005, when he challenged Joseph about throwing chips at his girlfriend Kerry Barker, 38, and another woman.

Graphic CCTV footage showed Joseph struggling with Mr Whelan, 28. Witnesses said Joseph had a manic smile on his face as he stabbed his victim before slowly leaving the bus. He had claimed he was `possessed' at the time, had `special powers' and could predict the future.

Joseph is currently being treated in Broadmoor for paranoid schizophrenia and is expected to be confined to a secure hospital indefinitely when sentenced next month.

The court heard Joseph had been at Forest Bank on remand for five weeks.

He was released when charges of abduction and having unlawful sex with a 15-year-old were dropped due to lack of evidence.

But he should have been detained because he was due in Liverpool Crown Court for burglary and there was an arrest warrant out for him.

According to prison sources, the jail did not know of the outstanding warrant, even though it was on the Police National Computer.

The Department of Justice said: "Our thoughts are with the family and friend of Richard Whelan. This case shows a number of failings for the criminal justice system as a whole which is of great concern to the government and which we are investigating.

"Maria Eagle (Ministry of Justice), Vera Baird (Solicitor General) and Tony McNulty (Home Office) have today written to Chief Inspectors of the Crown Prosecution Service, Court Administration, Constabulary and Prisons to gain a full understanding of what happened in June and July 2005 and to make sure that any mistakes that may have occurred do not happen again."

Joseph, also known as Anthony Peart, had been arrested by Merseyside Police in May 2005 and charged with burglary. He was bailed by Liverpool magistrates to his London address, subject to a curfew.

An arrest warrant was issued when he failed to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on June 27.

But he had been arrested in the interim by Surrey Police on the sex allegations, and remanded in custody at Forest Bank.

Merseyside Police were unaware of his arrest as it was not on the Police National Computer (PNC) and as a result the warrant was issued when he failed to appear in court.

The arrest warrant was on the PNC but the prison was unaware of it. A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: "His details were circulated on the Police National Computer within 24 hours of his non-attendance at court in Liverpool, as the policy requires.

"The warrant was issued for his current address which at the time was in the London area. There was no record on the PNC that he was in custody."

A spokesman for Forest Bank said: "There will be an official inquiry into the events of June and July 2005 and as a result of that we don't feel able to say anything at this stage as we don't want to pre-empt the inquiry."


http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/a...in_page_id=1770
QUOTE
Prison mix-up leaves burglar free to kill bus passenger who asked him to stop throwing chips
By NEIL SEARS - More by this author » Last updated at 01:00am on 23rd November 2007

Comments (1)
Anthony Joseph

Killer: Anthony Joseph stabbed Mr Whelan hours after accidentally being released from prison
A crack-smoking serial criminal stabbed to death an innocent bus passenger only eight hours after being mistakenly freed from custody, it emerged yesterday.

Anthony Joseph had started throwing chips at legal secretary Kerry Barker and when her boyfriend Richard Whelan challenged him, he laughed as he plunged a knife into his heart.

Last night the Home Office began an inquiry into why a young offenders institution released Joseph when there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

The Tories attacked the "catastrophic failure" that led to the killing.

Justice spokesman Nick Herbert said: "Surely there should be rigorous checks in place to screen prisoners for outstanding arrest warrants before they are released back into the community?

"This breakdown in co-ordination between the courts, prisons and police resulted in the tragic death of an innocent young man."

Yesterday a second jury failed to reach a verdict on a murder charge against Joseph, 23.

Prosecutors at the Old Bailey then accepted his plea of guilty to manslaughter through diminished responsibility after he claimed to be a paranoid schizophrenic.

Philip Katz QC, defending, said Joseph was suffering from the onset of schizophrenia at the time and should be cleared of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

But doctors were not agreed if Joseph was mentally ill at the time of the killing.

Defence psychiatrist Professor Nigel Eastman said Joseph was being treated for paranoid schizophrenia in Broadmoor secure hospital.

He thought Joseph had been suffering from the illness and the start of a personality disorder in July 2005, and his judgment had been impaired by it.

But prosecution psychiatrist Dr Paul Chesterman said Joseph made no complaint about his mental health until he was on remand in Belmarsh Prison.

Dr Chesterman said: "The evidence does not indicate that at the material time, Mr Joseph was significantly compromised by mental illness."

Richard Whelan

Tragic Richard Whelan simply protested that Joseph was throwing chips at his girlfriend
The grieving family of hospitality agent Mr Whelan, 28, expressed bitter disappointment at the verdict, saying the mental illness claim was a desperate excuse from an "angry and vindictive man".

Outside the court Mr Whelan's sister Teresa Ward said: "Anthony Joseph callously killed Richard for no reason at all. Our lives have changed for ever.

"We miss Richard every day - his gentleness, his kindness and his love."

The countdown to tragedy began in May 2005 when unemployed Joseph, of Islington, North London, was arrested in Merseyside for burglary.

While awaiting trial, he was arrested on charges of abduction and unlawful sex with a girl of 15, and this time was locked up.

An arrest warrant was issued because he failed to appear for the burglary case - but he was freed on July 29 after the abduction and unlawful sex charges were dropped.

He went straight to London - and that night, drunk on spirits and high on crack cocaine, boarded the N43 double decker bus in Islington, North London. Mr Whelan, of nearby Kentish Town, and his girlfriend Miss Barker, 38, got on at the same stop after a night out.

They were planning to travel a few miles for a meal near Miss Barker's home in Muswell Hill. The couple sat on the top deck - and Joseph sat down behind them.

Almost immediately he began throwing chips at a lone American woman, Kelly Burke, who was in front of Mr Whelan and Miss Barker.

Victor Temple, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey that Mrs Burke looked back, and saw "weird-looking" Joseph, still throwing chips and with "a distinguishable smile or smirk on his face".

CCTV footage of Joseph on the bus throwing chips before knifing Mr Whelan
Enlarge the image

Mrs Burke then left. Miss Barker told the court: "I just said to Richard: 'Look, he's throwing chips at that girl. He'd better not throw them at me.'"

Fighting back tears, Miss Barker told the court that Joseph did indeed then throw a chip at the back of her head - laughing as he did so. After three or four chips had been thrown, Mr Whelan stood up - and Joseph came towards him.

Miss Barker added: "I turned round and they were fighting. The man was basically on top of Richard.

"I remember trying to pull the man off Richard. I was ringing the bell. I was screaming, 'Leave him alone'."

Joseph stabbed Mr Whelan seven times in 30 seconds, then calmly walked down the stairs with a "gangster swagger" and asked to be let off the bus.

Kerry Barker: The killer threw chips at her head
It was only when he had gone that Mr Whelan told his girlfriend: "Look, he stabbed me."

He was taken to hospital but died within the hour.

The attack was recorded on the bus's CCTV, but, after his arrest, Joseph denied murder. He initially failed to mention any alleged mental health problems.

Mr Temple told the Old Bailey that Mr Whelan had approached Joseph only after provocation.

"Mr Whelan was not prepared to sit down and do nothing," said Mr Temple.

"An altercation broke out which was not between equals. The defendant, who habitually carried a knife, became verbally and physically aggressive.

"He took out the knife and stabbed the unarmed Mr Whelan in the top part of his body.

"The defendant had been drinking and taking drugs and needed little or no excuse to turn his pent-up anger against the innocent victim."

The Crown Prosecution Service said it was not normal policy to seek a third trial.

Joseph - who smiled when he heard that the jury had failed to reach a verdict - will await sentence in Broadmoor maximum security hospital.

Last night a Government spokesman said: "This case shows a number of failings for the criminal justice system as a whole, which is of great concern to the Government and which we are investigating."

Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "This is another catastrophic failure in the Criminal Justice System."

The blunders that led to a tragedy

May 18, 2005: Joseph arrested by Merseyside Police on burglary charges. Freed on bail by Liverpool magistrates but told to live at his address in Islington, North London, under curfew.

June 10: Arrested by Surrey Police on charges of abduction and unlawful sex with a girl of 15. Remanded in custody to a young offenders institution, Forest Bank in Manchester.

June 27: Because he is in custody, fails to attend burglary hearing in Liverpool. Court issues warrant for his arrest. Arrangements are made for Joseph to be taken directly from Forest Bank to Liverpool Crown Court burglary hearing on August 3.

July 29, 1.45pm: Despite these arrangements, and the fact there is an outsanding warrant for his arrest, he is suddenly freed from Forest Bank after charges of abduction and unlawful sex are dropped. He takes a train to London.

July 29, 9.45pm: High on crack, Joseph stabs Richard Whelan to death on a London bus.

Last night Merseyside Police said there was no record that Joseph was in custody on the Police National Computer at the time a warrant was issued for his arrest.

According to prison sources, Forest Bank was unaware of the arrest warrant.


http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL227163620071122
QUOTE
Man admits to bus stabbing
Thu Nov 22, 2007 7:09pm GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - A man admitted on Thursday to stabbing to death a bus passenger who had asked him to stop throwing chips at his girlfriend.

Anthony Joseph, 23, stabbed events manager Richard Whelan seven times while travelling on the number 43 bus in Islington, north London, the Old Bailey heard.

That morning Joseph, from Islington, had wrongly been released from prison despite an outstanding arrest warrant on a separate offence, the BBC reported.

The government said an enquiry involving the police and prisons had been launched.

The Criminal Justice Department said in a statement: "This case shows a number of failings for the criminal justice system as a whole which is of great concern to the government and which we are investigating."

Defence lawyer Philip Katz said Joseph, who denied murder, was suffering from the onset of schizophrenia at the time of the killing.

Joseph pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after two Old Bailey juries were unable to agree a verdict on murder.

Justice Gross discharged the second jury on Wednesday after the Crown decided not to go ahead with a third murder trial.

Afterwards, Whelan's sister Teresa said: "Having heard the whole of the evidence for a second time we feel that the defence of diminished responsibility in this case has been used as a defence for the un-defendable, with so much evidence showing that Joseph was an angry and vindictive man."

She said her brother, whom she described as a private, quiet man with high values, had "made the mistake of judging another by his own standards".

Whelan, 28, from Kentish Town, and his girlfriend, Kerry Barker, 38, were sitting on the top deck of the bus in July 2005 when Joseph began throwing chips and laughing at another female passenger.

That passenger moved downstairs and Joseph began lobbing chips at Barker.

Whelan approached the defendant to remonstrate, unaware that Joseph was armed with a knife and had been taking drink and drugs, the court heard.

The prosecution said: "He was not prepared to sit tight and do nothing. An altercation broke out, but it was not between equals."

Whelan was stabbed seven times, staggered along the bus and collapsed and died in hospital two hours later.

The stabbing was caught on CCTV and shown to both juries.

Sentencing was adjourned until December 20.

(Editing by Luke Baker)

[rodin]

Taser happiness new zeitgeist

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