Early release of child killer slammed

Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner criticises early release of man who raped then murdered nine year old girl.

John O’Shaughnessy was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison in 1997, after he raped and strangled Kayleigh Ward and disposed of her body in the River Dee.

In a letter to Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, The Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC MP, the Commissioner asked for an urgent review of the decision.

Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner, John Dwyer said:
“Justice can mean different things to different victims, but this unfathomable decision flies in the face of what every decent human being should consider right and wrong. Kayleigh and her family deserve so much better.

““I often talk about improving public confidence in policing. That must go hand in hand with confidence in the justice system as a whole. I am on record as a believer that life should mean life, so for the perpetrator of such a sickening crime to be released before their minimum term has even been served makes a mockery of our justice system and fails victims.“