A violent prisoner has escaped for a
second time in nine months after he was sentenced for absconding while
serving time for robbery and actual bodily harm.
Mark
Donnison, 43, fled from Hollesley Bay yesterday morning despite a judge
telling him he would not be released in the 'immediate future' when he
was recaptured after absconding.
He had been transferred in May to the open facility in Suffolk nicknamed Holiday Bay because of its 'relaxed' regime.
Absconded: Violent Mark Donnison, 43, is on the
run for the second time in less than a year after he escaped from an
open prison in Suffolk
Donnison was arrested when he
was recognised by police officers at a chip shop in Hull four weeks
after going missing from North Sea Camp open prison, Lincolnshire, in
August last year.
He was
put back behind bars by a judge at Hull Crown Court where he was told he
would not be able to secure an early release when he was jailed for
another four months.
Judge
Mark Bury warned him: 'You could have received a much longer sentence
but the reality is, here is a serving prisoner serving a life sentence
and the real punishment will come because you will not be able to secure
any form of early release in the immediate future.'
Donnison was warned that he could
spend life behind bars when he was jailed in 2007 as he would only be
released if it was considered he was no longer a danger to society.
His
indeterminate sentence for carrying out a robbery in Hull stated that
he could only apply for parole after serving a minimum of three and a
half years.
Donnison went on the run with another prisoner, Gary Lawson, 31, when he absconded from North Sea Camp on August 10 last year.
Lawson was serving a life sentence for the murder of pensioner Alfred Wilkins, whose home in Grimsby was set on fire in 2001.
Both
Lawson and Donnison were jailed in October at Hull Crown Court for four
months to run concurrently with their existing sentences.
His
second bid for freedom has sparked outrage with Humberside Police
Commissioner Matthew Grove who said resources were being directed
towards recapturing him.
Missing: Staff at Hollesley Bay realised Donnison had absconded at around 8am on Monday morning
He said: 'I am concerned that a man who is serving a life sentence
for robbery and who escaped from an open prison in August last year has
been put back in another prison from which he has been able to escape
again.
'This news will rightly
raise questions in the minds of residents in Hull and Suffolk as to
what processes are followed by the prison service to ensure the risk of
prisoners escaping is mitigated.
Anger: Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey has vowed to raise the issue with the Ministry of Justice
'I
am sure residents will also be asking themselves why local police
resources will once again be spent on recapturing someone who chooses to
put two fingers up at the justice system.
'These
are questions I will be raising on their behalf with the Justice
Secretary, whom I intend to write to concerning this case.'
Suffolk Coastal Tory MP Therese Coffey pledged to take up the case with the Ministry of Justice.
'It
is concerning that an offender with a history of absconding
is put in an open prison,' she added, before criticising the decision to
impose a concurrent jail sentence as punishment for Donnison's initial
escape.
'In my opinion, the sentence should have been
added to run consecutively and not concurrently,' she said.
Peter
Cuthbertson, from the Centre for Crime Prevention, which calls for
tougher sentencing, said: 'The use of open prisons should be scaled back
dramatically to prevent cases like this.
'They
make a mockery of punishment, and in far too many cases lead to
dangerous criminals avoiding justice. This puts the public at risk and
wastes police time,' he added.
A
spokesman for the Prison Service said: 'The number of absconds from
open prisons in 2011-12 was the lowest level since central records
began, and only those risk assessed as suitable for open conditions are
placed in open prisons.
'Those who do abscond will be returned to a more secure prison and may face further charges.'
A
spokesman for Suffolk Police said: 'Police are asking anyone who may
have seen him or anyone with information about where he is now to
contact officers.
'You should not approach him or take any further action. He has connections to the Bridlington and Hull areas.'
Donnison
is of medium build, around 5ft10ins tall, with tattoos of an eagle on
his lower right arm and the name ‘Mark’ across his knuckles.
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