Yahoo News Mum says authorities have 'blood on their hands' after killer stabbed her Good Samaritan son 17 times
A heartbroken mum said the authorities had "blood on their hands" after claiming her son's killer should still have been in jail. Donna Powell, 54, demanded to know why Robert Goodwin was free to stab Shane Thompson 17 times in December 2021.
The 32-year-old was a loving dad who offered Goodwin a job when he was released from prison but the killer repaid his kindness by fatally stabbing him after a drink at a pub. Goodwin was convicted of murder in April last year and jailed for life with a minimum of 22 years.
But the victim's mum, Donna Powell, a retired school cook from Birmingham, said Goodwin should have still been behind bars serving a 41-month sentence when the attack happened. Goodwin had been jailed for a robbery in December 2018 that left his victim unconscious. He was later freed on licence but then recalled to jail after being accused of attacking another person.
Yet he was again released on parole and killed Shane nine days later, the Mirror reported. Donna accused the parole board and probation service of "not doing their job" and said she wouldn't hesitate to "stand outside Parliament" to achieve justice for her son. She said: "I blame them for my son's death.
"If they had done their job, he would still be alive. They have my son's blood on their hands.
"I have no faith in the authorities. It's a complete waste of time having them if they let people out to murder. If I worked for the Parole Board, there is no way I would have let this man out of prison.
"I need to fight for other families who have been through this. I need the government to realise parole is not working. If I've got to stand outside Parliament I will do it. They don't do their job. They don't do their due diligence."
Goodwin was recalled to prison while he was out on licence in March 2021 over a GBH probe after he had allegedly tried to attack another victim with a knife and hit him with a piece of wood two months earlier. He was not prosecuted for the alleged offence and Goodwin's offender manager proposed his release, judging him "motivated" to cooperate with efforts to manage his risk effectively.
Probation still maintained Goodwin's "medium risk" status rather than upgrading it to "high risk". Corey Smith, Donna's lawyer, said Goodwin's behaviour inside prison was said to have been "poor" and he was "aggressive" towards prison staff. In October 2021, Goodwin had to be placed in solitary confinement for violation of prison regulations.
But the following month the Parole Board decided to release Goodwin on the basis that his risk to the public had not increased. On the system the board was using to assess the risk, Donna said there was no acknowledgement of the alleged stabbing attempt, nor other instances of aggressive behaviour to prison and medical staff.
Goodwin was released on November 25. Birmingham Crown Court was previously told the two men had shared a cell at HMP Birmingham. Shane was working as a builder and offered Goodwin a job because he felt sorry for him, Donna said.
On December 4, the pair went for a drink and returned to Shane's girlfriend's home in Roundlea Road, Bartley Green.. "We don't know what went on in the house," Donna said.
Later that evening, Shane's girlfriend returned to find her boyfriend lying in a pool of blood on her bed with several stab wounds. Donna said: "A knife had gone straight through my son's arms and legs with some force. But it was the wound to his heart that killed him."
She said the family was still struggling with his loss. She added: "Some days we don't want to get out of bed. Shane's brother has not been able to go to work. Nobody will employ me. I breakdown in job interviews. I was a school cook for 23 years. We were going to retire and move to Spain."
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: "Every serious further offence is a tragedy in which victims and their families' lives are affected forever. While these represent a tiny proportion of cases considered, one case is one tragedy too many and we take these extremely seriously. Where this happens, the Parole Board is committed to doing everything it can to learn the lessons that will help to prevent further tragedies.
"The Board has a dedicated review process led by the review committee which closely examines and scrutinises any parole release decision after a serious further offence. This process involves outside experts, judges, psychologists, psychiatrists as well as senior management and is in place to identify any lessons that could be learnt.
"Prisoners directed for release by the Board are released on licence to be managed in the community by the Probation Service. The Probation Service are able to recall an offender to custody at any point if their behaviour causes concern."
A Probation Service spokesperson stated: "This was an awful crime and we continue to offer our sincere apologies to the family of Shane Thompson. We have since taken important steps to address the issues identified, including new mandatory training and strengthened quality checks for risk assessments.
"We are also providing extra funding of more than £155 million a year into the Probation Service to deliver the robust supervision required to keep the public safe."
