David Taylor, MP for Hemel Hempstead, has demanded that a man convicted of killing an off-duty police officer in Hemel Hempstead is returned to prison.
In 1988, James Hurley was acting as the getaway driver following a robbery at the Barclays bank in Hemel. PC Frank Mason, who walking his dog at the time, was shot dead whilst tackling the gunman. He was just 28 years old.
The following year, Hurley and two other men were given life sentences for the murder but escaped custody during a prison transfer in 1994. He went on the run and was later arrested in the Netherlands in 2007 where he was sent back to prison.
The Parole Board directed Hurley’s release after a hearing in October last year.
On Wednesday, March 12, Mr Taylor MP revealed that he had sent a letter to the Justice Secretary responding to the news of Hurley’s release.
He said: “The murder was unforgivable. The fact that he then escaped from custody six years later by threatening a prison officer with a knife says more about the type of man Hurley is.
“The murder of much-loved PC Mason shocked the community, not least those within the police ranks… I write to you today to express my strong opposition to his release and to request that the Ministry of Justice urgently review this decision and get Hurley back behind bars where he belongs.
“For Frank Mason’s family, for fellow officers, and for my community in Hemel Hempstead, we need to see justice served. Hurley took a life, he was given life, he has not seen justice served yet.
“He must be back behind bars.”
Photo credit: UK Parliament / Hertfordshire Police Federation
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