Armed raider twice jailed for life is freed only to strike again

An armed robber has received an astonishing third life sentence after twice being freed to strike again.

The lenience of the criminal justice system was highlighted yet again as a judge yesterday apologised to career criminal Derek Rossi’s two latest victims for the fact that he had been at liberty to attack them.

Rossi, 58, was then given his third ‘life’ sentence – but only with an order that he serves 12 years.
Critics said that the case showed the phrase ‘life sentence’ was now just a ‘meaningless lie to reassure the public’.

The thug, who once almost severed a policeman’s arm with a point-blank pistol blast, was caught on this latest occasion after bursting into a bookmakers.

He was traced after he twice fired his shotgun, then dropped it and removed his balaclava to pick it up – which meant he was seen by dozens of witnesses.

But that was little comfort to the two female employees when he demanded money from the safe.

For he was only free to threaten their lives because the parole board first released him after he was jailed for life in 1984 for shooting at policemen, then again after he was jailed for life for holding up a post office in 2000.

Giving Rossi his third life sentence, Judge Peter Clarke said yesterday at Blackfriars Crown Court in London that the staff at the bookmaker, Ann Fairbrass and Hannah Bjorkvall-Green, deserved an apology.

 Judge Clarke said: ‘Mrs Fairbrass and Mrs Bjorkvall-Green will be sitting in the public gallery wondering how it is that Rossi could have entered the betting shop where they worked when he was the subject of not one, but two sentences of life imprisonment for attempting to murder police officers and  members of the public while committing robberies.

‘The victims deserve an explanation about why a man who had previous life sentences for robbery was given his liberty. I wish to apologise to them on behalf of the criminal justice system for placing them in that position.’

Source-Dailym