studiolegaleinternazionale

Diary

STATEMEMT RE RONNIE BIGGS: MP's INVITED TO VISIT BIGGS IN HOSPITAL: 2 July 2009:; " I have today written to Jack Straw MP to reconsider his decision made based upon evidently wrong information. I attach a copy of that letter below. I also INVITE on behalf of Ronnie Biggs and Mike Biggs his son ANY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT and MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS to visit Ronnie Biggs at Norwich Hospital and to see for themselves the serious and critical state he is in. That invitation is open from this moment with the hope they can then report to Jack Straw MP his condition. Mr Biggs is now aware of the decision by Jack Straw and is critically ill in an isolation ward at the hospital. I hope that Mr Straw properly reconsiders his decision as a matter of urgency."; GIOVANNI DI STEFANO; ----------------------------------------------; Mr Jack Straw MP; Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice; 102 Petty France; London SW1H 9AJ; ENGLAND; VIA URGENT FAX: +44 203334 3669; 2nd July 2009; Dear Mr Straw:; RONALD BIGGS: PAROLE BOARD RECOMMENDATION OF 15 JUNE 2009; I refer to your letter dated 1st July 2009 and your missive detailing the ratio decidendi in refusing to underwrite, uniquely, the Parole Board full recommendations in the release of Ronald Biggs.; Prior to embarking upon a Judicial Review it is my belief that you have acted upon erroneous facts and thus nothing contained within the Criminal Justice Act 1968 denies you the right to ‘at any stage’ alter your decision. In fact it is my duty to inform you of the misconstrued elements that you have based your decision.; You state that Mr. Biggs is ‘wholly unrepentant’ for his crime. It was this reason that predominantly has been used to reject the Parole Board’s full recommendations. I attach with this letter a copy of my submissions made to the Parole Board dated 22nd April 2009. I refer you to Para. 7 and cite such in full:; “Mr. Biggs has forever regretted his actions in participating in the so called ‘great train robbery’ and it was his recognition of such that was a factor in his voluntary return to the United Kingdom. He wanted to in his own words ‘settle his debt with justice’ and in our submission his ten years in prison such debt should be now marked ‘paid in full’.”; These were legal submissions made on behalf of Mr. Biggs to the Parole Board which; the said Parole Board were duty bound to take into consideration and to which being admissible evidence you are compelled at considering. Your assertion thus that Mr. Biggs is ‘wholly unrepentant’ has no basis de facto and/or de jure and cannot be used as the ratio decidendi in rejecting the conclusions of the Parole Board in recommending release.; You have further stated that Mr. Biggs has participated in no courses whilst detained in prison to assist with his offending and rehabilitation. You will of course kindly note that the Parole Board themselves rejected that as a motive since Mr. Biggs has been so ill during his tenure that he has not been able to participate. Mr. Biggs cannot walk, cannot talk, cannot use the toilet without a bag by his wheelchair, eats via a nasal gastric feed and as you also know (or should) uses an alphabet board to communicate. Only because of his poor health have the normal courses available and compulsory been denied to Mr. Biggs. Nevertheless, it is my duty to remind you that for the past 41 years Mr. Biggs has committed no offences in any jurisdiction notwithstanding the extremely harsh conditions in Brazil imposed upon him. That ratio decidendi also fails the test both de facto and/or de jure. You will appreciate you cannot deny Mr. Biggs access to offending courses owing to his poor health then use such as an excuse to reject the Parole Boards full recommendations.; Finally, you have stated that Mr. Biggs poses thus a risk of re-offending. I think it is safe to presume both de facto and/or de jure that the said ratio is simply unsustainable and beggars belief from an eminent political figure and lawyer as yourself.; It is my belief that frankly, you have based your decision on erroneous material. I need not remind you that you would be acting ultre vires but more important in an unjust manner if you made a decision that was founded upon speculation, gossip, opinions etc. Your decision must be founded, if it is to stand a legal challenge, upon admissible evidence and facts. I have provided you the facts regarding the main ratio of your decision namely that Mr. Biggs was ‘wholly unrepentant’. The evidence is clear and contained in my submissions to the Parole Board which is the only factors that you are duty bound to take into consideration. Those are founded in the attached submissions namely as identified above.; It follows that I thus ask you kindly to reverse your decision and authorise the release of Ronald Biggs on parole as fully recommended by the Parole Board and that a failure of such must, with some considerable regret, attract a challenge by Judicial Review. I sincerely hope that such will not be necessary taking into consideration the current status of Mr. Biggs.; Kindly acknowledge safe receipt of this letter and the submissions to the Parole Board dated 22nd July 2009.; Yours sincerely; Giovanni Di Stefano; STUDIO LEGALE INTERNAZIONALE; GIOVANNI DI STEFANO; RE: RONALD ARTHUR BIGGS; ADDITIONAL FURTHER Supplementary Written Submissions to Parole Board dated April 22nd 2009; (Prepared by Studio Legale Internazionale, Lawyers to Ronald Arthur Biggs); Introduction; 1. Mr. Ronald Arthur Biggs was convicted on 14th April 1964 for his part in the “Great Train Robbery”. He was sentenced to a total of 30 years imprisonment.; 2. These supplementary submissions are to be read in conjunction with submissions dated 30th March 2009 and 16th April 2009, 20th April 2009 and are caused by further material notified on the 22nd April 2009.; 3. There is now produced, yet again in a piecemeal fashion, a Probation Officers Report that was prepared 09/04/2009 yet only disclosed today ONE day prior to the Parole Board meeting.; 4. We object to Mr. Biggs being referred to as ‘the prisoner’ in the report and kindly request that the Parole Board substitute that phrase for ‘Mr. Biggs’.; 5. We have strong objections to ‘the victim’ being named as Jack Mills. He without doubt suffered an assault but it is conceded that such was not attributed to Mr. Biggs and per se Mr. Biggs cannot be adjudicated upon an offence committed by a third party. In fact the indictment against Mr. Biggs did not include any offence for assault against Mr. Mills. The real victims in the crime were the public at large and the Chancellor of the Exchequer who lost £2,000,000 or so and as such the taxpayer.; 6. We have included in our submissions the views of a selected number of those who express forgiveness for Mr. Biggs and call for his release on license.; 7. Mr. Biggs has forever regretted his actions in participating in the so called ‘great train robbery’ and it was his recognition of such that was a factor in his voluntary return to the United Kingdom. He wanted to in his own words ‘settle his debt with justice’ and in our submission his ten years in prison such debt should be now marked ‘paid in full’.; 8. We agree entirely with the recommendation that Mr. Biggs is ‘suitable for release on license’ contained in para.12 of the disclosed report for which, albeit late, we are grateful as is also Mr. Biggs.; 9. In all the circumstances we request the Parole Board to approve as a matter of urgency the release under license of Mr. Biggs.; STUDIO LEGALE INTERNAZIONALE
Frail Ronnie Biggs launches legal challenge to Jack Straw(THE TIMES): 2 July 2009:; ----------------------------------------------; http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6620388.ece; ----------------------------------------------; Ronnie Biggs is to challenge Jack Straw’s refusal to grant him parole.; Lawyers for Biggs, who is suffering from pneumonia after breaking his hip in a fall, said that they would seek a judicial review of the Justice Secretary’s decision as soon as possible.; Mr Straw wrote yesterday to Giovanni di Stefano, who represents Biggs, setting out his reasons for rejecting the parole board's recommendation that Biggs be released. Whitehall sources said that it was unusual for a minister to refuse to accept a parole board’s recommendations for a prisoner serving a fixed term.; The Great Train Robber’s son, Michael, was called to the Norfolk and Norwich University hospital last night after Biggs’s health deteriorated.; Mr di Stefano said that he was shocked by the decision. “All the preparations were in place for him to be released,” Mr di Stefano said. “It is a cruel and unusual punishment for him not to be released. Mr Biggs legitimately expected that the parole board’s recommendations would be adhered to.”; Biggs, who will be 80 next month, has suffered a series of strokes and is unable to speak. He communicates through gestures and by spelling out words with an alphabet board. He is fed through a tube in the stomach and can walk only a few steps unaided.; Mr Straw’s decision was also criticised by a probation leader, the former Prisons Minister Ann Widdecombe, and prison reformers. Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the probation officers’ union, said: “It’s difficult to see how he poses a threat to anyone apart from politicians.”; Ms Widdecombe said: “The prisons are bursting at the seams. The courts are being urged to let burglars go free, but one fairly doddery and very frail old man is being kept in prison. If you have got a prison place, for goodness sake use it to lock up someone who is genuinely a risk to the public.”; In his letter, Mr Straw said that he was worried about Biggs’s potential to reoffend and his failure to take any courses while in prison to rehabilitate himself. “Whilst the medical evidence indicates that your ability to commit further acts of violence has reduced to a very low level, I am concerned that you might incite and be involved in such acts of violence, through association with criminal peers,” he wrote.; Mr Straw said that he was also worried by his “lack of repentance” and attempts to “minimise a crime”.; A care home in Barnet, North London, had agreed to look after Biggs. Barnet Primary Care Trust is thought to have agreed to cover the cost.; Mr Straw added: “Mr Biggs chose to serve only one year of a 30-year sentence before he took the personal decision to commit another offence and escape from prison, avoiding capture by travelling abroad for 35 years whilst outrageously courting the media. Had he complied with his sentence, he would have been a free man many years ago.”; Biggs is recovering in hospital after falling from his bed in prison at the weekend. Three guards keep a 24-hour watch on him. Doctors want to operate but fear that he would not survive the procedure.; The Times reported in April that the probation officer overseeing Biggs had recommended his early release. He has served ten years of the 30-year jail term imposed in 1964 for his part in the £2.5million robbery of the Glasgow to London mail train.
SKY NEWS RE BIGGS: 2 July 2009:; ----------------------------------------------; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=952qrtpmrbE&feature=channel; ---------------------------------------------; CUT & PASTE TO BROWSER
GIOVANNI DI STEFANO BBC INTERVIEW RE BIGGS: 1 July 2009:; --------------------------------------------; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/8129146.stm; -------------------------------------------; CUT AND PASTE TO BROWSER
DECISION FROM JACK STRAW RE RONNIE BIGGS: 1 July 2009:; Mr Straw rejects the Parole Board recommendation for parole because Mr Biggs poses a risk of re-offending!; If anyone can explain how this man can re-offend I would be obliged.; Mr Biggs will not be released on parole.; It follows we shall judicially review the decision.
Ronnie Biggs in 'turn for worse' (BBC): 1 July 2009:; ------------------------------------------; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/8129146.stm; ------------------------------------------; The Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, who has been in hospital after breaking his hip in a fall, has "taken a turn for the worse", his solicitor has said.; Giovanni di Stefano said Biggs' son Michael was on his way to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital "on an emergency basis".; Justice Secretary Jack Straw is expected to make an announcement about Biggs' parole bid.; Biggs, who is barely able to walk, could be released as early as Friday.; Biggs, who is being held in Norwich Prison, is in Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital after breaking his hip in a fall at the weekend.
Ronnie Biggs on the brink of freedom (THE TIMES): 1 July 2009:; -----------------------------------------------; http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6617834.ece; -----------------------------------------------; Ronnie Biggs, one of the Great Train Robbers, will today be told he is free to leave prison into the care of a nursing home.; Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, will sign his parole papers, The Times has been told, despite concerns that the robber may play on his notoriety.; However Biggs is recovering in the Norfolk and Norwich University hospital after breaking his hip in a fall at the weekend at Norwich prison.; Three prison guards keep a 24-hour watch on the 79-year-old who was injured when he fell from his bed in prison at the weekend. Doctors want to operate but fear that he would not survive the procedure. He is likely to be in hospital for several more weeks.; As soon as he is well enough he will be moved to the care home in Barnet, north London, near to his son Michael.; Biggs, who will be 80 in August, has suffered a series of strokes and is unable to speak. He communicates through gestures and by spelling out words with an alphabet board. He is fed through a tube in the stomach and can walk only a few steps unaided.; Negotiations have been taking place to decide who will pay for his round-the-clock medical care and it is believed that Barnet Primary Care Trust has agreed to cover the cost.; The Times reported in April that the probation officer overseeing Biggs had recommended his early release. He has served ten years of the 30-year jail term imposed in 1964 for his part in the £2.5 million — £40 million at today’s prices — robbery of the Glasgow to London mail train.; Documents seen by The Times show that the officer recommended release even though she believed he had no regrets about his life.; The probation officer’s report said that he was suitable for early release on parole licence as long as he had a care package to manage his health needs.; The document notes that Biggs has in the past sought to play on his celebrity status, which could lead to an issue of risk management on his release.; Giovanni di Stefano, who represents Biggs, said: “The taxpayer will be paying, but that would be the case wherever he was and it is common sense that he should be near his family.”; The move to free Biggs is likely to prove controversial given his role in one of the most notorious robberies of the 20th century and his life of indolence in Brazil during 36 years on the run.; Biggs served only 15 months of his sentence before escaping by scaling a 30ft wall. He went to France, Australia and Brazil, where he lived openly for three decades, safe from extradition because he had fathered a child by a Brazilian woman.; He returned to Britain in 2001, impoverished and ill. His son was given British citizenship after his parents married in Belmarsh jail, southeast London, in 2002.
Great Train Robber Biggs Free To Leave Prison: 1 July 2009:; ----------------------------------------------; http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Ronnie-Biggs-Will-Be-Told-He-Is-Free-To-Leave-Prison-Into-The-Care-Of-A-Nursing-Home/Article/200907115327007?lpos=UK_News_Second_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15327007_Ronnie_Biggs_Will_Be_Told_He_Is_Free_To_Leave_Prison_Into_The_Care_Of_A_Nursing_Home; ----------------------------------------------; Ronnie Biggs, one of the Great Train Robbers, will today be told he is free to leave prison into the care of a nursing home, says The Times.; Justice Secretary Jack Straw will sign his parole papers despite concerns he may play on his notoriety, it is reported.; Biggs, 79, will have served a statutory third of his original 30-year jail sentence.; But he is seriously ill and unlikely to be able to fully enjoy his freedom.; Biggs returned to Britain in 2001 after 36 years on the run and was ordered to complete the sentence he interrupted when he escaped from Wandsworth prison in 1965.; He is frail after suffering a string of strokes and is currently being treated in a Norfolk hospital for a broken hip and pneumonia.
A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE SENT ME MESSAGES TODAY: 1 July 2009:; I wanted to say a big thank you to all who have sent me messages yesterday and today wishing me a happy birthday. From all parts of the globe Argentina to Australia I am quite surprised and of course extremely grateful. Again thank you to ALL that have sent me messages. Now its time to gallop along and try and enjoy the rest of the day..... oh and ps; --------------------------------------------; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glNjsOHiBYs; --------------------------------------------; CUT AND PASTE TO YOUR BROWSER; Do you know the group that recorded this Happy Birthday song that was sent to me??? Its very good. AGAIN THANK YOU ALL; GDS
A taxing time for Ronnie Biggs: 29 June 2009:; SKY NEWS: MARTIN BRUNT; -------------------------------------------; http://blogs.news.sky.com/lifeofcrime/Post:e13c9116-1972-4bd9-a557-d7bd95a1b49b; -------------------------------------------; Apparently, there are three prison officers guarding Ronnie Biggs round-the-clock as he recovers in hospital from his latest ailment.; I'm not sure what they are worried about...the increasingly-frail Biggs couldn't have made a run for it before he broke his hip. Now he's suffering from pneumonia.; "I find it bizarre," his lawyer Giovanni di Stefano tells me. "He's an 80-year-old, category C prisoner who is about to be released on parole. It must be costing a fortune to guard him. What is the point?"; An exasperated Mr. di Stefano added: "No wonder people in Britain don't want to pay their taxes."
IRAQ: MASSIVE CAR BOMBS AND A SANDSTORM(2): 29 June 2009:; The best place to be in a sandstorm is in a military tent....it keeps the sand from your eyes, nose and throat as well as other places........
IRAQ: MASSIVE CAR BOMBS AND A SANDSTORM(1): 29 June 2009:; This is what its like in a sandstorm. Its quite incredible actually.
IRAQ: MASSIVE CAR BOMBS AND A SANDSTORM: 29 June 2009:; I do not know what is worse for Iraq car bombs of sandstorms! I had no idea that sandstorms actually can kill also. Oh well, these car bombs killed yet again 20 or so people and injured scores more. Nothing new though in that.
KILLERS' FREEDOM BID; HILLERY SPARED TWO FROM DEATH SENTENCE( Patrick McCann and Colm O'Shea): 28 June 2009:; Sunday Mirror; June 28, 2009 Sunday; Eire Edition; SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 26; HEADLINE: KILLERS' FREEDOM BID;; HILLERY SPARED TWO FROM DEATH SENTENCE; BYLINE: DARREN BOYLE; BODY:; TWO republican prisoners sentenced to hang for murdering a garda in 1980 are claiming they are being held illegally and should be released immediately.; Patrick McCann and Colm O'Shea were sentenced to death for the murder of Garda Henry Byrne in July 1980.; McCann, 63, and O'Shea, 57, were due to meet the hangman on December 19, 1980, along with Peter Pringle, whose conviction was later overturned.; President Patrick Hillery lifted the death sentences on May 27, 1981, instead ordering that the men should serve 40 years.; Now the pair, who were members of the INLA, claim that with remission, they should be released because they have served enough time in prison.; In a letter to Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, McCann states: "I have been in jail since July 1980 on this charge. In May 1981, the President ordered that I serve 40 years penal servitude.; "At the time remission was set by the 1947 prison rules. This said that men doing penal servitude got one quarter remission and women got one third. This was discrimination. I should have got one third."; McCann then claims that he has served the sentence set down by President Hillary's order and should be released.; He adds: "Can I now apply for habeas corpus and/or judicial review?" McCann and O'Shea were part of a three-man gang that held up the Bank of Ireland branch in Ballaghderreen, Co Roscommon, on July 7, 1980. Two of the raiders went into the bank while the third sat outside in their stolen blue Ford Cortina.; Once inside the bank, one of the raiders ordered the other to shoot anyone that moved. When customers failed to react in time, one of the gunmen fired a shot into the ceiling.; The bank's acting manager was forced at gunpoint to take a raider to the safe where they stole EUR52,000.; The look-out held up a passing Garda patrol car, ordering the officers to lay face down on the road.; The trio escaped in their Cortina and waved their weapons at following gardai to force them to abandon their chase.; They dumped their first car and set fire to it before escaping in a White Ford Escort.; Shortly afterwards a squad car from Castlerea arrived and crashed into raiders.; The gunmen opened fire, shooting Garda Henry Byrne, 29, in the head, killing him instantly.; Two of the men ran across a field firing at the chasing gardai.; Detective Garda John Morley was hit in a second shoot-out, although gardai managed to wound O'Shea.; Two of the raiders escaped in a red Volkswagen which had been passing at the time of the shootout.; The men's lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano said he has written to Minister Ahern calling for his clients' immediate release.; "It is quite simple really. McCann and O'Shea have served more than 29 years for the murder.; "President Hillery could have commuted the death sentence to a life sentence, but because he decided on a fixed jail term, they are entitled to early release.; "Under the prison rules at the time they were jailed, men received one quarter remission and women got one third. That is discriminatory. If women were entitled to a third off, then so should men."; In his letter to the Department of Justice, Mr Di Stefano argues that the equality articles in the Irish Constitution as well as the European Court of Human Rights.; "We thus require from you the confirmation that both Mr McCann and Mr O'Shea will indeed be released from prison forthwith with the word forthwith being interpreted immediately in order to mitigate any further acts of false imprisonment.; "If that is not forthcoming our clients will seek an order from the High Court accordingly," he wrote.
Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs hospitalised with broken hip: 28 June 2009:; --------------------------------------------; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/5674803/Great-Train-Robber-Ronnie-Biggs-hospitalised-with-broken-hip.html; --------------------------------------------; Ronnie Biggs, the Great Train Robber, has been taken to hospital with a suspected broken hip and a chest infection, his son Michael said.; he 79-year-old is being treated for the infection in Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in Norwich and will be seen by an orthopaedic surgeon later.; Biggs, from Lambeth, south London, is being held on the hospital wing of Norwich prison. He is eligible for release on July 3.; Justice Secretary Jack Straw is expected to make a decision on the case within days.; Biggs was a member of a 15-strong gang which attacked the Glasgow to London mail train at Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, in August 1963, before making off with £2.6 million.; He was given a 30-year sentence, but he escaped from Wandsworth prison in south west London in a furniture van after spending 15 months in jail.; He was on the run for more than 30 years, living in Spain, Australia and Brazil, before returning to the UK voluntarily in 2001.; Michael Biggs said his father was found on the floor of his cell this morning following a suspected fall.; He said: "I think he is OK but obviously very concerned that this is all happening the week he was hoping to come out of prison. I'm on my way to hospital to see him."; Biggs is barely able to walk, is fed through a tube and is expected to be cared for following his release by Barnet Council and the local Primary Care Trust near where his son lives in north London.; His family has said he hopes to be free to celebrate his 80th birthday on August 8, 46 years to the day since the heist.; Last week, Biggs's lawyer said it was "laughable" to suggest his client still posed a risk to society.; A recent Parole Board panel which recommended the 79-year-old's early release said he had not undertaken risk-related work and did not regret his offending.; The report said: "In terms of his attitudes and risk areas there is little evidence beyond his increased age to suggest that, if he were able to return to his old criminal associates and lifestyle, the risk of involvement in further violent offending has reduced significantly."; It said the risk Biggs posed "is manageable under the proposed risk management plan and consequently parole is recommended".; His lawyer, Giovanni di Stefano, said: "The only important factor is this: the Parole Board has recommended release - all else is frankly superfluous. Biggs still a risk? At 80, can't walk, can't talk, can't go to the toilet, is fed with nasal gastric feed, in a wheelchair?; "I will leave whether Biggs is still a risk regarding robbery, because that is what the Parole Board had to decide, frankly to common sense, and I can hear many laughing even way afar from Iraq - the laughter travels thousands of miles. But I am obliged whatever the decision to recommend parole."; The Parole Board panel noted that train driver Jack Mills was hit over the head with an iron bar and knocked unconscious. He was described during the trial as having been "brutally knocked about".; But Biggs now described what happened to the train driver as a "light tap", and said he had no regrets about the conspiracy and subsequent events.; The report said his health was "now very poor".; "The strokes he has suffered have deprived him of speech and the ability to swallow. He is tube-fed and communicates by hand gestures and the use of an Alphabet Panel."; Both writers of the probation report considered that risk both of reoffending and of serious harm were low, "this largely because of his physical infirmity and age", the panel said.; "He requires 24-hour nursing care because of his feeding, communication and mobility difficulties," it added.; Mr di Stefano said: "This changes nothing. I still expect him to be paroled on July 3 - he can be paroled to the hospital, before going on to the nursing home.; "I shall be asking the authorities how he came to fall - apparently he fell off his bed - and how he got a chest infection. This is a case where Jack Straw should have applied compassionate release when I applied for it earlier this year."