Prisoner funeral refusal 'upset'

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The family of a prisoner say they are upset after he was refused permission to attend his mother's funeral.

Michael Attwooll, 65, serving a life sentence for murder at Kingston Prison in Portsmouth, had wanted to attend his mother's funeral at Cwmbran, Torfaen.

Attwooll's family say he was told bad weather and a lack of "feedback" from police prevented him from attending.

Both Gwent Police and the Prison Service said they did not comment on individual prisoners.

Attwooll and another man were jailed for the murder of a taxi firm owner and his girlfriend in Risca near Newport 1994.

His mother Evelyn Jenkins, 87, died on 16 January and the funeral took place on 3 February, when there was heavy snow, at Gwent Crematorium near Cwmbran.

But Attwooll's sister Pat McDonough, from Newport, said it should be a "human right" to attend a mother's funeral.

All requests to attend funerals are viewed with compassion and where possible they are granted Prison Service

"I want people to know that it's inhuman - there is no justice in this," said Ms McDonough.

"It's his human right for goodness sake. We have to suffer for it and it's not right."

She said Attwooll had not seen his mother since he was allowed to visit her when she was very sick five years ago.

Heavy snow affected roads on the day of the funeral which caused travel problems in parts of the country.

Ms McDonough said Attwooll had been told the day before the funeral he could not attend due to the bad weather and because of a lack of "feedback" from police.

"The weather I could just about have stomached but when they said that, I couldn't believe it," she said.

"If the weather had been good he wouldn't have been able to attend anyway."

Family member

A Gwent Police spokesperson said the force could not discuss individual prisoners, but if Mrs McDonough would like to contact them to discuss her concerns, they would be happy to do so.

A Prison Service spokesman said it did not comment on individual prisoners.

He added: "All prisoners are entitled to apply for a compassionate licence to attend the funeral of a close family member providing they are not category A, on the escape list, unconvicted or awaiting sentence.

"Where a prisoner meets the criteria for application, a thorough risk assessment is carried out in conjunction with other agencies. This would cover the risk of escape, further offending and risk to other people.

"All requests to attend funerals are viewed with compassion and where possible they are granted. Whilst the decision to prevent anyone attending the funeral of a close family member is regrettable, that must be weighed against the potential risk they pose to others.

"Public protection must remain paramount."

'Particularly poignant'

Campaign group South Wales Against Wrongful Conviction said attending an immediate relative's funeral was a "fundamental right which the authorities should be obliged to facilitate".

A spokesman said the case was "particularly poignant" because Attwooll's mother fought to clear her son's name for many years "in the face of deteriorating health".

Attwooll and John Roden, both from Risca, Caerphilly county, were jailed for life for the 1994 killing of Gerald Stevens and Christine Rees.

Both men have campaigned for their convictions to be quashed and their case was brought to the appeal court last year following a referral from the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

But judges rejected their appeals and said they had not heard anything that undermined the safety of the verdict.