Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd is set to be freed after serving half of his sentence for the champagne-fuelled accident that killed Charlotte Brown.
Shepherd, 34, was given a six-year determinate prison sentence after being convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of Ms Brown, 24.
She was killed when the boat she and Shepherd were in crashed on the Thames in December 2015. The pair were on a first date on his boat when it hit an obstacle and they were both were thrown into the icy water.
Her father told The Sun that their family is ‘devastated’ that Shepherd will likely go free in January and has slammed the UK’s criminal justice system as ‘outrageous.’
Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd (pictured) is set to be freed after serving half of his sentence for the champagne-fuelled accident that killed Charlotte Brown
Charlotte Brown (pictured) was killed when the boat she and Shepherd were in crashed on the Thames in December 2015. The pair were on a first date on his boat when it hit an obstacle and they were both were thrown into the icy water
Graham, Ms Brown’s father, told the newspaper that the family will ‘never get over’ what happened to his daughter, who would’ve turned 31 this month.
He said: ‘Shepherd has shown no remorse.
‘It goes to show how outrageous our criminal justice system is.’
Shepherd last year was moved to a category A prison where he was set to serve the rest of his sentence alongside Sarah Everard‘s killer ex-police officer Wayne Couzens and other notorious inmates.
He was being held at HMP Frankland, in County Durham. Among the other prisoners at the jail, was Soham murderer Ian Huntley and serial killer Levi Bellfield.
Shepherd had fled Britain after being charged with Ms Brown’s manslaughter, and was given a six-year prison sentence in his absence.
The fugitive finally handed himself into Georgian police after an international manhunt was sparked and the Daily Mail put up a £25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
In July 2020, Shepherd has had 78 days cut from his 10-year jail term because of time he served waiting for extradition after fleeing the UK to Georgia.
Three appeal judges said the 78 days Shepherd spent in custody awaiting extradition in Georgia should count as part of the jail term he is serving.
Ms Brown’s family is ‘devastated’ that Shepherd will likely go free in January and has slammed the UK’s criminal justice system as ‘outrageous’. Pictured: Shepherd’s speedboat
Shepherd’s trial in July 2018 heard how he had bought the 1980s’ boat on Gumtree and had tried to impress other women with it.
But his first date with Ms Brown ended in tragedy when the 14ft Fletcher Arrowflyte GTO, which was riddled with defects, hit a log and capsized, throwing them into the river near Wandsworth Bridge.
He later sparked outrage by launching an appeal against the conviction while on the run in Georgia – and he was awarded funds to do so.
After spending ten months on the run, Shepherd was finally extradited and ordered to serve six years with six months consecutive for skipping his bail in April 2019.
The web designer then admitted hitting a barman over the head with a vodka bottle in a hotel in Devon and was given four years extra.
In 2019, Shepherd was moved to a different high-security jail after being bullied by other inmates.
He was transferred for his own safety to HMP Woodhill, near Milton Keynes.
A Ministry of Justice source told The Sun that Shepherd has ‘kept his head down and quietly done his time.’
The insider alleged that the convict knows his case won’t have to go to a Parole Board because he has a determinate sentence.
‘If he behaves then there is no reason to keep him in jail beyond his halfway point,’ the source reportedly said. ‘He will be free to simply walk out the door.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
