Killer Glyn Razzell, who murdered his estranged wife in 2002, will remain in prison after the Parole Board’s decision to release him on licence was reversed at the High Court.
Razzell was jailed for life with a minimum of almost 16 years in 2003 for the murder of Linda Razzell, who disappeared on her way to work at Swindon College, Wiltshire, during their divorce proceedings. The mother of four’s body has never been found.
Parole decision quashed
The Parole Board ruled Razzell could be released on licence in April, but the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) referred the decision to the High Court. At a hearing earlier this week, barristers for the MoJ said the Parole Board had failed to assess Razzell’s risk properly, and that the decision to free him should be reversed.
Mrs Razzell’s relatives and loved ones also urged the court to block the release, with her cousin Julie Westmore saying the family “will not feel safe” and expressing fear that “all hope of ever finding Linda’s remains will be lost” if the killer is freed.
Judge's ruling
In a ruling on Friday, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb quashed the Parole Board’s decision, stating that she was “not satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that Glyn Razzell be confined”. She said: “I am not persuaded that the risk has diminished to such a level that offender management is capable of keeping the public safe if the defendant is released.”
The judge continued that there were “significant gaps” in Razzell’s “understanding of the risk he poses”, meaning it was “far from sufficient to persuade me that there is a secure foundation” for the Parole Board’s conclusion. She also said that the plan to manage Razzell’s release “relies on trust that has not been earned”.
Denials and previous parole denials
Razzell, of Crewkerne, Somerset, has always denied being responsible for the killing. He was previously denied parole three times from 2019, with a Parole Board panel finding in 2023 that he “does not want to lose his desired status of being a ‘wrongly convicted murderer'”.
In its April decision, a Parole Board panel said it had “serious doubts” about Razzell’s honesty and that there was a “very significant” risk in the context of relationships. But it continued that this risk was “not imminent” and that Razzell would comply with licence conditions as he was “strongly motivated not to return to custody”.
The Parole Board also considered Helen’s Law, named after Helen McCourt, who vanished on her way home from work in 1988. The law requires the Parole Board to take into consideration a killer’s refusal to disclose where they hid their victim’s body.
The MoJ can refer a Parole Board’s decision to release a prisoner to the High Court if it believes the release would undermine public confidence in the parole system, and the court must be satisfied that imprisonment is no longer necessary for the protection of the public.
