Mother of murdered teen fears justice reforms

A mother whose teenage son was murdered by a convicted offender on probation says she fears proposed changes to the justice system.

Conner Marshall, 18, of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, was beaten to death by David Braddon in March 2015 in a case of mistaken identity.

But plans to deal with prison overcrowding would see more prisoners in Wales and England, including some serious offenders, eligible for early release after serving a third of their sentence.

Mr Marshall's mother, Nadine Marshall, is concerned reforms announced by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, including increased use of tagging and home detention, will put even more strain on the probation service

"The problems are going to be magnified because the system isn't fit for purpose as it is," she said.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said the UK government inherited a criminal justice system "in crisis" but would include £700 million to fund "intensive supervision" of released prisoners by the Probation Service.

Mrs Marshall responded: "I'm not confident in the slightest.

"That money is just going to plug holes.

"The staffing isn't there, the processes aren't there, the systems aren't there for probation to actively be able to deal with the workload they have."

Mr Marshall was killed at Trecco Bay caravan park in Porthcawl, Bridgend county, in a drink and drug-fuelled attack.

At the time, Braddon, 26, of Caerphilly, was subject to two community orders following his conviction for drug offences and assaulting a police officer, but was classified as a low-risk offender.

He was among 244 criminals on probation who were charged with murder in Wales and England between January 2020 and March 2024 - an average of one a week - according to statistics shared with BBC Wales-produced Newyddion S4C.

At the inquest into Mr Marshall's death, the coroner heavily criticised the Probation Service, particularly the "woefully inadequate" management of Braddon's inexperienced new case worker.

An MOJ spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the victims of these horrific crimes and their families.

"A 45% uplift in funding for the service will allow us to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community. And we are on track to have recruited 2,300 probation officers by March next year."

But an independent sentencing review has suggested wider use of probation services and the third sector in managing offenders after release from prison.

It was carried out by the former Conservative Lord Chancellor David Gauke after prisons across Wales and England almost reached capacity last summer.

It acknowledged the probation service is also currently "under great strain".

Mahmood told the Commons on Thursday she accepted most of the proposals but stopped short of allowing the most serious offenders from being released early and said nobody jailed for terror offences would be eligible.

Between July 2024 and March 2025, the UK government recruited 1,000 probation officers and has set a target of recruiting a further 1,300 this financial year 2025-26.

National Association of Probation Officers broadly supports the government announcement but warned proper investment must accompany the burden on staff.

"We have long been saying if the prison system is full and it is, so is probation," general secretary Ian Lawrence told Newyddion S4C.

"Can the probation service cope with what will be a new cohort of early releases in Spring next year once this is all enacted? Not at the current rate of progress.

"We currently have a system where staff are working massive hours under massive pressure just to cope with what I would call business as usual."