Ronnie Biggs: Let me out so I can die with my family?

Question

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article3293979.ece

Ronnie Biggs, the Great Train Robber, made a desperate appeal for his effort to get parole. In a statement issued to The Independent on Sunday, Biggs, 78, asked to be released from jail to die with his family: "I am an old man and often wonder if I truly deserve the extent of my punishment. I have accepted it and only want freedom to die with my family and not in jail. I hope Mr Straw decides to allow me to do that.
"I have been in jail for a long time and I want to die a free man. I am sorry for what happened . It has not been an easy ride over the years. Even in Brazil I was a prisoner of my own making," he said.

should he be allowed parole???

Answer 1

yes, let him out. At 78 hes hardly a danger to the public.
And we wonder why the prisons are full up.........

Edit: Elvis, sensationalist as ever, they didnt kill him, leukaemia killed him, and last time i looked leukaemia wasnt ever caused by a blow to the head

Answer 2

I think he should be released. He is a very old and very ill man and poses no risk to anyone. The original sentence of 30 years for a minor role in an armed robbery was extravagant, murderers don't get that long. They didn't kill the train driver, he died many years later of leukemia. I don't doubt that he was injured and perhaps traumatised, and that should have been taken into consideration when the robbers were sentenced, but still 30 years was extreme. Biggs has served seven years or so which is roughly what an armed robber gets these days, I see no harm in his being allowed to see out his last days with family.

Answer 3

My first reaction was to say 'yes' he should be allowed parole, and then I thought about it a bit more and am now coming down reluctantly on the 'no' side.
It is not the original crime we are so much talking about but the fact that he went on the run for 35 years, and did not serve his sentence and repay his debt to society when he had the chance, and could maybe have been out by the time he was 60 or thereabouts. He may be truly penitent now on both counts, but I don't see how Mr Straw, although he might want to be seen to be compassionate, can really uphold the apparent usurping of the British judicial system in this way.
Also if you look at the story a bit more closely there are all sorts of other unanswered questions. For instance, his son is intending to put him into a private nursing home in Barnet, North London, as opposed to allowing him to go home to 'die with his family'. Have the staff and other residents been consulted about this?

Answer 4

Tough one. I know it's not unheard of to be sentenced for murder or manslaughter and be out of prison within 6 years. Am I right in thinking that Biggs is NOT thought to be the one who used the iron bar?

If that's the case I would let him out of prison either at the end of an appropriate jail term, OR when the doctors estimate he had only about a month left to live, whichever comes first.

Answer 5

Kamran. I have read through all 27 answers and I think you have your answer. A clear majority to let this frail old man to die with his family. I agree with the majority but I note that you have not expressed your own opinion. Compassion is a rare thing and even rarer on this site. I hope the government can show some compassion and do the right thing.NOW .

Answer 6

Parole. He got 30 years, murderers with no remorse rarely get that. Not saying it's right what he did and don't see him as a folk hero. Can't help feel he's paying for making a mockery of the authorities more than the crime.

Answer 7

I think they should let him out, but they won't. His escape was an embarassment to them. All the time he was on the run and in exile, Ronnie literally stuck two fingers up to the British Establishment. The Train Robbers were not murderers, yet they were sentenced to an excessive 30 years, more than any paedophile or rapist. Ronnie came home to die, they should let him out to die in peace, they have made their point now. Ronnie is no longer a threat to anyone.

Answer 8

These days he would probably be out after 2 years because they need the cell space. Poor sod was born at a time when criminals were the baddies. Nowadays they are victims. We are the baddies.

Answer 9

why should he get out?

he escaped and lived a life of luxury in Brazil. womenising and drinking. hardly a stiff sentence.

you cant feel sorry for someone in prison just because they are old. old people can be evil too, they are not all innocent.

He committed a horrific crime out of greed. maybe he would have had a normal life is he had stuck to working for a living.

let him die in prison, many people have had to live without their loved ones because of people like him

Answer 10

I`m just amazed that stealing get such a big sentence when rape and murder get small sentences.
This says something about societies values, and it`s not nice.
Let the man out and allow him to die with dignity surounded by his family..!!

Answer 11

I'm sorry but I don't feel anything for this man who escaped from prison then lived a life of luxury in Brazil like someone said if Brazil was like a prison to him send me there the climate would be heaven. As the saying goes If can't you do the time don't do the crime. So no he shouldn't be allowed parole. He was sunning it up on some Brazillian beach while his other gang members were doing time in Parkhurst or where ever.