Prisoner who beat man with learning difficulties to death while a teenager released

A prisoner who was a teenager when he beat a man to death has been released from prison after the justice secretary's bid to block his application.

John McCallum was 17 years old when he beat a 52-year-old man with learning difficulties to death.

The teenager, who was intoxicated, knocked the victim to the ground and stamped repeatedly on his face in the attack, which happened near the Nags Head pub in Darlington on 6 October 2005.

McCallum admitted murder and was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 10 years on March 20, 2006.

McCallum, now aged 33, was given direction to be released by the Parole Board on19 March this year. The Secretary of State for Justice, MP Dominic Raab, applied for reconsideration of the decision just weeks later on 19 April.

He said the panel's decision was irrational and said it had over-relied on the respondent's self-report, in contrast to evidence put forward by report writers. He also said the panel incorrectly applied the test for release, with a focus on the prospect of imminent risk only.

A Parole Board report said McCallum had a limited history of offending prior to the offence. It said he first came before the courts in 2005, when sentenced for possessing cannabis.

In the same year he was convicted of being drunk and disorderly.

He became eligible to be considered for release by the Parole Board in January 2015 and in April 2017 he was released on the decision of the Parole Board. Three months later, McCallum was recalled due to concerns about his use of alcohol and his poor compliance.

A later review by the Parole Board led to McCallum being re-released on 26 March, 2018. Less than a month later, he was recalled again due to concerns about his misuse of drugs.In November 2019, the Parole Board was asked to consider whether McCallum should be re-released or whether he should be progressed to an open prison.A panel reviewed the case at oral hearings on 3 December 2020, 15 April 2021, 18 November 2021 and 10 March 2022. They issued a decision letter directing release on 19 March 2022.The Parole Board has now refused the Secretary of State's application for reconsideration.

Parole Board Member Robert McKeon said the decision to direct release was "fully justified" and he does not consider the decision to be "irrational".

Mr McKeon said: "This was on any view a serious and troubling case. Two crucially important issues I must decide are first, whether I am satisfied that the conclusions reached by the panel were justified by the evidence and secondly, whether its conclusions were adequately and sufficiently explained.

"I am satisfied that the decision to direct release was fully justified on the totality of the evidence.

"In a thorough and carefully reasoned decision which sets out in detail the findings, assessments, operative reasoning and conclusions of the witnesses and takes fully into account all of the evidence given to the panel, the panel in my judgment satisfied the public law duty to provide evidence-based reasons that in my judgment adequately and sufficiently explained the conclusions it reached.

"For the reasons I have given, I do not consider that the decision was irrational and accordingly the application for reconsideration is refused."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...