The family of a man who stole a bike when he was a teenager and remains in prison nearly 20 years later due to an old law have said they don’t know where he is.
HIS CRIME
Wayne Bell was locked up for robbery when he was 17 years old and remains behind bars aged 34, due to a sentence of imprisonment for public protection – which was abolished by the courts.
His mother and sister told Manchester Evening News they’ve lost contact with him and don’t even know which prison he is in now.
LAST WISH NOT GRANTED
Their father’s last wish as he fought a losing battle with cancer was to speak to Bell one last time – but this went unfulfilled as he died in April 2020.
WHAT’S THE SITUATION NOW?
His sister Alana Bell, 33, said the family haven’t heard from him in over two years and they ‘don’t even know if he’s alive’.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Around 17 years ago, Bell punched a man and stole his bike in Manchester. He was sentenced in 2007 and was among one of the first convicts to be handed a new type of sentence.
Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences – introduced in 2005 – was later abolished for being ‘unjust’.
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Those in receipt of them were handed minimum terms but after their few years in prison were up, they had to convince the Parole Board they were safe enough to be released back into the community.
At 17, Bell was convicted at Manchester Crown Court and told he would serve four years before the Parole Board would consider releasing him but successive hearings deemed he couldn’t be managed safely.
So as time went on he lost hope of ever being released and started getting in fights behind bars. With each brawl, his chances of persuading the board diminished even further.
