Shane Jenkin, 48, who blinded his former partner by gouging out her eyes during a 12-hour ordeal, has claimed a Parole Board decision to deny his release was "irrational". The appeal was dismissed.
Jenkin was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of six years in 2012 after admitting grievous bodily harm. He was moved to an open prison in February 2025, but spent only three months in the community before the Parole Board refused his release in July.
Attack and sentencing
Jenkin attacked Tina Nash, 44, on the evening of April 21, 2011, after watching a DVD featuring eye gouging a day earlier, Truro Crown Court heard. He throttled her, broke her nose and jaw, and gouged out her eyes as her two children slept next door.
The attack left Nash completely blind and permanently disfigured a month before she turned 30. Her sons were aged 13 and three at the time. The court heard the attack was one of the worst cases of domestic abuse the UK had ever seen.
Appeal and Parole Board response
Jenkin claimed the decision to block his release was "irrational" because there was "unanimous professional support for release and no further testing on [licence] was recommended".
Dismissing the application, Peter Jones, on behalf of the Parole Board, said Jenkin "continues to struggle to fully accept the victim's account" and revealed he was still "on anti-psychotic medication". Jones said the panel was of the clear view that a further period of vigorous testing in the community was essential before Jenkin could be safely released.
Victim's response
Speaking last year as Jenkin was moved to an open prison, Nash said: "They have let a man that committed the most horrific attack on me roam the streets. This man will not be safe in public."
In 2024, she told the Mirror: "I know he regrets not finishing me off. I still have a voice. If I wasn't here to tell the story I would have been swept under the carpet and become just another statistic and he would have been clear to come out, get a new girlfriend and start the cycle of abuse all over again."
Jenkin was initially detained under the Mental Health Act but was transferred to the prison estate in 2013. His appeal against the Parole Board decision was dismissed.
