Patrick Mackay, a 70-year-old serial killer known as the 'Devil's Disciple', has been spotted in Bristol city centre just weeks after being refused parole. Mackay, who admitted to killing three people in the 1970s, was seen talking to members of the public at a bus station on Monday, May 1, while on day release from HMP Leyhill, an open prison in Gloucestershire.
Mackay was sentenced in 1975 for the murders of two widows and a priest. He also confessed to killing up to eight other people, including a nanny and a four-year-old boy, but later retracted those claims. He has been behind bars for 47 years and has repeatedly been denied parole since 1995 due to being considered too dangerous.
Despite the parole refusals, Mackay has been moved to an open prison, where inmates have more freedom and can take up employment. Gareth Johnson, MP for Dartford, Kent, where Mackay is originally from, expressed concern, stating: 'There is a real danger from this man — he’s still young enough to kill again.'
Vic Davies, 67, whose mother was among the additional eight people Mackay claimed to have killed, told The Sun that Mackay's release 'doesn't make sense'. The case has sparked debate about the rehabilitation of dangerous offenders in open prisons.
