Joanna Simpson’s killer husband Robert Brown, 59, barred from transferring to open prison before his automatic release as he still ‘poses serious threat to public’

• Robert Brown is due for automatic release in November having served 13 years 
• But just months ago, he was deemed to still pose a serious threat to the public 
• Brown sentenced for manslaughter after killing estranged wife Joanna Simpson 
• Ms Simpsons mother will meet Dominic Raab today in a bid to block his release  

A man due for automatic release this year after he killed his estranged wife was blocked from moving to an open jail just last year – because he was deemed to be too dangerous. 

Robert Brown is due for automatic release in November having served just 13 years of a 26-year sentence for manslaughter after battering his estranged wife Joanna Simpson to death with a claw hammer within earshot of their two young children in 2010. 

Just months ago, Brown was still deemed to pose a serious threat to the public, and was kept confined in a category C prison. 

According to the Sun, officials ruled he had not met the threshold to show his risk level had lowered. 

Ms Simpson’s mother Diana Parkes fears Brown still poses a risk to her family and to the public, and has called on Dominic Raab to block his release. She is due to meet him later today. 

Just months ago, Brown was still deemed to post a serious threat to the public, and was kept confined in a category C prison

She has previously said: ‘Mr Raab has the power to review this case and help prevent the release of Brown in November. It is surely so clear that this would be the right thing to do. I hope and pray he will see sense and help me and my family.’ 

She has the backing of campaigners and wife of former Prime Minister Carrie Johnson. 

Ms Simpson’s friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, who chairs the charity Refuge, which supports survivors of domestic abuse, has also called for Brown’s release to be blocked.

She said: ‘This man is a dangerous misogynist who has shown no evidence of remorse. He subjected Jo to years of abuse, stalking and coercive control before he killed her. Dominic Raab has the power to stop this release.’

Brown will be classed as a ‘critical public protection case’, meaning he has been assessed as posing a very high risk of serious harm.

Such offenders require high levels of monitoring after their release, but the Probation Service has warned it is struggling to cope with ‘unmanageable workloads’. 

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation, Justin Russell, said this month that staff shortages were ‘severely’ affecting the service’s ability to manage offenders, including ‘those who pose a serious threat to the public’.

Mrs Simpson, 46, had filed for divorce from Brown after enduring years of abuse, harassment and intimidation

Ms Simpson, 46, had filed for divorce from Brown after enduring years of abuse, harassment and intimidation. 

In October 2010, Brown drove to her home in Ascot, Berkshire, armed with a hammer and bludgeoned her at least 14 times, before wrapping her body in plastic sheeting and burying it in a grave he had previously dug in woodland in Windsor Great Park.

He was charged with murder and prosecutors argued the killing was a premeditated attack, but Brown said he had been suffering from ‘severe stress’ and ‘abnormality of mental function’ which had impaired his self-control.

The jury at Reading Crown Court acquitted him of murder and he was given a 26-year sentence for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, which he had already admitted.

Joanna Simpson’s family are encouraging people to write to their MP calling for Robert Brown to stay in jail. Details can be found at www.jsfoundation.org.uk/call-to-action/ 

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