Maria Pearson, 70, the UK's longest-serving female prisoner, is set to be released after the Parole Board approved her release on licence. Pearson has spent nearly 39 years in prison for the 1986 murder of her ex-boyfriend's new partner, Janet Newton.
The Parole Board concluded that Pearson no longer poses a significant risk to the public, describing the decision as 'finely balanced'. She will be released under stringent conditions, including a curfew enforced by electronic tagging for a year and no contact with the victim's family.
Pearson was originally sentenced to a minimum of 12 years for the murder, but repeated concerns about her behaviour and threat to the public kept her imprisoned for an additional 27 years. Her case has been described as 'politically motivated' by campaigners, who called her Britain's 'forgotten inmate'.
Janet Newton's sister, Lynn, had urged the Parole Board not to release Pearson, calling her 'Britain's most dangerous female prisoner'. The Parole Board acknowledged that community offender managers had previously assessed Pearson as posing 'a high risk of causing serious harm'.
The murder occurred in 1986 after Pearson developed obsessive jealousy towards Newton, who had become engaged to Pearson's ex-partner. Pearson stabbed Newton 17 times in the chest. Pearson had married the ex-partner bigamously days after giving birth to their daughter.
Pearson's release comes after her tenth parole review. A previous review in 2023 deemed her unsuitable due to the nature of the murder and her conduct in custody. Pearson will now be released on licence, with conditions designed to manage any remaining risk.
