JAILED BIRMINGHAM NURSE GETS REDUCTION AFTER SHOWING 'EXCEPTIONAL PROGRESS'
A Birmingham nurse serving life for murdering her partner by drugging him and injecting him with insulin had her sentence reduced because of her "wholly exceptional progress" in prison.Marie Whiston, now 62, was convicted by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court in May 1997 of murdering 60-year-old Eric Lloyd in June 1994.
A judge at the High Court in London yesterday announced a two-year reduction in her original 16-year minimum term — the period she must spend in custody before she can apply for early release.
Mr Justice Owen stated that Whiston had made "wholly exceptional progress in prison, both in terms of her personal development and in the contribution that she has made to the welfare of others".
He explained that this was one of the very rare cases where her progress warranted a reduction in her minimum term.
The minimum term to be served by Whiston, who denied murder and is from Bordesley Green, runs from the date of her sentence.
She met Mr Lloyd in 1989, and they began living together about a year later.
The case also noted that she later changed his will so that all his property would go to her.
Mr Justice Owen identified the pre-meditation degree as a "very serious aggravating feature" of the case.
