Britain’s longest-serving female prisoner has been returned to jail only weeks after walking free, reopening a bitter debate over whether she should ever have been released.
Maria Pearson, 70, was released in August after almost four decades behind bars for the murder of 23 year old Janet Newton in Hartlepool. Pearson had been refused parole nine times before the Parole Board approved her release, concluding that she no longer presented an unacceptable risk to the public.
Her freedom was subject to strict licence conditions, including living at an approved address, observing a curfew and wearing an electronic tag. She was also prohibited from contacting members of Newton’s family.
Pearson has now been recalled to prison after breaching one of those conditions. The exact nature of the breach has not been publicly disclosed.
News of her return has brought relief to Newton’s relatives. Her sister, Lynn Hamilton, described the development as the most positive update she and her family could have hoped for.
Hamilton has previously questioned the decision to release Pearson, arguing that concerns raised by professionals should have carried greater weight. She said a prison psychologist had recommended that Pearson should initially be placed in open conditions because of concerns about the risk of reoffending.
Pearson was 31 when she killed Newton in October 1986. Newton, a 23 year old building society employee, had become involved with Pearson’s former partner. Pearson had stalked her before the fatal attack, which took place on Grange Road in Hartlepool. Court records later established that Newton was stabbed repeatedly.
Pearson was convicted of murder at Teesside Crown Court in July 1987 and sentenced to life imprisonment. She was told she would have to serve a minimum of 12 years. That minimum term expired in October 1998, but she remained in custody because successive parole decisions found that she continued to present concerns.
Her case became one of the most unusual in the British prison system. She was transferred to open prison conditions twice, but on both occasions concerns about her behaviour resulted in her return to more secure custody. Earlier parole hearings also raised questions about her willingness to engage with rehabilitation and professional support.
By 2023, Pearson had been refused parole for a ninth time. The Ministry of Justice said she was then the longest-serving female prisoner in the United Kingdom, having spent longer in custody than Myra Hindley, who died in prison in 2002.
