Trial and Imprisonment
Roberts was convicted of all three murders and sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of 30 years. The murders occurred just eight months after the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 suspended the death penalty in England, Wales and Scotland and substituted a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. While in prison, Roberts made several attempts to escape. He continues to serve time, despite the expiry of his recommended minimum term in 1996.
In 2001, he was moved to an open prison. However, Roberts was returned to a closed prison within months after allegations that he was involved in drug dealing and contraband smuggling. Author Kate Kray, who interviewed Roberts for her book Natural Born Killers, said that he has no remorse for his victims and recreates the murders in art and pastry decorations, making apple pies and decorating them with pastry cut-outs of policemen being shot. Kray said that he also produces "precisely drawn and coloured" paintings depicting someone shooting a policeman.
Read more about this topic: Harry Roberts (criminal)
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