A mum has been left stunned after discovering that the drink and drug-fuelled driver who killed her partner will be moved to an open prison after just 14 months.
Carol King, 31, found out she was having Richard Gray Jordan's second baby after he was killed in a car crash on the A19 near Houghton-le-Spring. The 33-year-old non-league footballer, who was known as Richie, was travelling in a Mercedes driven by his work colleague Mark Thompson.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how Thompson clocked more than 121mph before crashing the vehicle in August 2019. Richie was a rear seat passenger in the car and died in the collision. Thompson's front seat passenger, Lewis Atkinson, suffered a bleed on the brain.
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Thompson was jailed for six years and eight months at the court in Newcastle in August 2021. The 42-year-old, of Seaton Crescent in Seaham, County Durham, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Less than three months after saying goodbye to her partner of four-and-a-half years, Carol found out she was expecting his child. She gave birth to Richie's second daughter, who she named Gray Isabella Jordan after her dad, just before the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.
Carol, who lives in East Herrington, Sunderland, has now been informed that Thompson will be moved to a category D prison, known as an open prison. They have minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education or for resettlement purposes.
The mum-of-two, who works as an Admin Officer at HM Passport Office, said: "The justice system is fundamentally flawed. I feel let down by the justice system. I feel I have been as understanding as I can with the constraints of the law.
"At first you're told it's a six year and eight-month sentence, then you're told he will serve half, then you are told this. The punishment becomes smaller and smaller through time. You never think that 14 months down the line he could potentially be offered freedoms of some sort.
"I am surprised as I feel like I had realistic expectations in my head about the justice system and what can be done.
"I knew it would eventually happen and he would be released but I didn't think it would be this soon. You could argue there's a small possibility I could bump into him. It's adding extra anxiety and worry really that I could be faced with this person."
Carol is bringing up their daughters Quinn, four, and Gray, two, with help from supportive family. She said the period of time she waited for Thompson to be sentenced in court was longer than he has served in a closed prison.
She said: "It took two years, you could argue covid played a part in that, to get to the sentencing. In comparison to that, he's been in what you would regard as a closed prison for 14 months.
"I just feel frustrated but I'm numb and I have lost faith in what the process is meant to be. It's not meant to replace a loved one but you should still have some sort of faith in the justice system working and not just rehabilitating people but also supporting the victims left behind.
"You just lose faith because you feel like you're accepting what can be done and what constraints there are at the time and it's almost minimised.
"Even now it's almost like I'm still accommodating my life to his sentence and his punishment because I don't want to be faced with the prospect of seeing him, it's difficult. He will begin to get on with the rest of his life when I have just come to terms with what has happened."
Carol said she has signed up in November last year to take part in the restorative justice programme, which will involve her meeting Thompson. However the decision to move him to an open prison has been made before the process was carried out.
She said: "I thought I need to see if this person is genuinely remorseful for what happened and the suffering he's caused and to see the impact it might have had on his own life as well. I was offered something that would have helped me and could have helped him possibly. It hasn't been done.
"He's been in a category C prison. It should have been done there, you would have thought, in the closed conditions. There's less of a chance of him being agreeable now - 14 months down the line."
The court heard last year how Thompson smashed into the rear of a Vauxhall Corsa with such force that Richie was sent flying from the vehicle. The car also went up in the air, hit a barrier and span before landing on its side on a grass verge. Richie sadly died as a result of his catastrophic injuries.
The owner of the Corsa described Thompson's Mercedes being driven "as if it were on a race track" in the seconds before the crash. A blood test later revealed the defendant was over the legal limit for alcohol and Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. Morphine was also found in his system.
Carol said that during the two years, between Richie's death and his sentencing hearing, Thompson was still allowed to drive on the roads. As it stands, a driver's licence is not revoked until there is a relevant criminal conviction.
She has launched a campaign to change the process whereby motorists suspected of being at fault in a serious or fatal collision have their licences temporarily suspended while an investigation continues.
Carol said she sees the change as being similar to someone having their licence temporarily revoked for the failure of a roadside eye-test. She said it would give people peace of mind and it would be an immediate acknowledgment of how serious the offences are.
Carol added: "I think I'm very thick-skinned to everything now. It's re-emphasised why I'm pushing forward with the campaign. I don't want anybody to go through this. If anything, it's made me more determined in regard to the campaign.
"The important question is can you say someone has been rehabilitated in 14 months, before they move to a prison which reintegrates them into the community? Can someone be rehabilitated for killing somebody in 14 months?"
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "Our heartfelt sympathies remain with Mr Jordan’s family and friends. Offenders are only moved to open prisons after a careful risk assessment and can be sent back to closed conditions at any time if they breach strict rules."
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