Maria Pearson to be released after 40 years in UK prison

Maria Pearson, the longest-serving female prisoner in UK history, is set to be released after spending nearly four decades in prison. But her release has sparked fresh controversy across the country, as some risk assessments by the relevant authorities still describe her as a person ‘capable of causing serious harm’.

Pearson, now 70, was arrested in 1986 for the brutal murder of her ex-boyfriend’s new partner, Janet Newton. In 1987, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison. But she spent almost 39 years in prison after successive parole applications were rejected. Because of her long imprisonment, some human rights activists have also called her the UK’s ‘forgotten prisoner’.

According to the information presented to the court, Maria became extremely jealous after her relationship with her ex-partner Malcolm Pearson broke up. Later, when Malcolm started dating Janet Newton, she followed and harassed them for a long time. On October 19, 1986, just two days after her ex-boyfriend got engaged, she confronted Janet in the street and stabbed her. Janet, who was only 23 years old, was stabbed 17 times in the chest, one of which pierced her heart. She died at the scene from excessive bleeding.

Recently, the parole board approved Pearson's release. However, the board described the decision as a "very delicate balancing act". After her release, she will have to comply with strict conditions. These include living at a designated address, being supervised by a probation officer, adhering to a curfew, being under GPS tracking for 12 months and not having any contact with the victim's family.

Meanwhile, the family of the deceased Janet Newton has strongly opposed the release. Janet's sister, Lynn Newton, said Maria was still a danger to society and had never shown any real remorse for her crimes. She said the prospect of Pearson's release was still a nightmare for their family.

Psychologists were also divided at the parole hearing. One expert assessed her as a medium to high risk of serious future crime, while others said her risk could be controlled with proper supervision and rehabilitation. After reviewing nearly 1,000 pages of documents and a lengthy assessment, the parole board concluded that it was not necessary to keep her in prison in the interests of public safety and that she was unlikely to commit serious violent crimes in the future.

Maria Pearson's release marks the end of nearly four decades in prison, while also reigniting debates about the UK justice system, public safety and the rehabilitation of offenders.