Sentenced to 18 months in prison but received a death sentence instead.

Just before noon today I received a call from the Governor of Winchester Prison informing me that my friend Albert George Axton had tragically died of a heart attack this morning and that the chaplain of the prison had suggested that the Governor contact me to ask if I could provide support to George’s widow and meet him to break the tragic news to her. Of course I immediately dropped what I was doing and arranged to meet him later in the day.

Two hours later we arrived together at her home and broke the news and her heart at the same time. I felt such an intense sorrow for this dear lady who had been married to George for 50 years and apart from the last 5 months whilst he has been incarcerated in Winchester Prison, they have never been apart for more than a few days in all that time.

Ironically the news of overcrowding in Britain’s prisons is top of the news agenda on the same day on which George’s heart stopped beating. Dr John Reid writing to judges and magistrates urging them not to jail criminals except those who have committed acts of violence and other serious crimes. George was convicted last September of conspiracy to supply cannabis and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

Due process led to his trial, conviction and an eighteen month sentence. Under the present rules he was due for release in June of this year. Shortly after arriving at the prison he was informed that it was likely he would be released on licence and electronically tagged from the end of January 2007 and would have to adhere to a curfew regime enforced by electronic tagging until June when he would have served 50% of his sentence.

I visited him three times with his wife at the prison during the last 5 months and we have spoken on each occasion about his impending release on January 25th. Last week however, his wife told me that the prison authorities had informed him that he wouldn’t be released at the end of January but that he would have to remain in prison until June. The reason he was given was that he was regarded as a danger to the public and therefore not eligible for release.

If this story wasn’t so tragic it would be farcical. This frail, disabled, little old man a threat to the public? He was informed that he had a right to appeal the decision but if it failed then there was no further recourse available to him. I haven’t managed to ascertain yet whether his appeal was heard or not, but I would speculate that the prospect of a further four and a half months in prison, separated from his wife, (who has herself been struggling to cope alone), compounded with his many health problems, and his financial difficulties amounted to just too much for his frail body and his heart just gave out after seventy years of faithful service punctuated with a couple of heart attacks and by-passes on the way.

I believe that if George not had his hopes built up for release in January only to have them dashed very shortly before his expected release date he would have been able to factor in the additional time in prison. The tragedy in this whole affair is that he was given hope and then had it snatched away on what sounds to me like a ridiculous premise. I hope that the people who have let George and Angela down sleep better over the coming months than I suspect she will.

If people commit crime then they should be punished, the alternative is anarchy which is a terrible prospect for this country. Notwithstanding, prisoners, and especially elderly and vulnerable ones should be treated with dignity, respect and integrity like other members of society expect. George had spent 70 years as a man whom the system defines as being of ‘good character’, he had paid his taxes and served his country in the armed forces, surely this is not the way that he should have died 24 hours prior to the date in which he expected to go home to his beloved wife.

Angela I’m so sorry for your loss, George was a precious friend to me and I will miss him deeply. We will hold you up in prayer that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will make His presence to you known from this time forth for the rest of your life and throughout eternity. I thank God that George heard the gospel of Jesus Christ on several occasions including last Sunday morning and my chief desire is that he choose to willingly bow his knee to Jesus and that he acknowledged Him both as Saviour and Lord.