Off The Record
A Prisoner Has Been Sentenced To Life In Prison For Killing His Cellmate
A prisoner has been sentenced to life in prison for killing the “baby killer” cellmate with a shattered bottle of cologne.
Early on November 12, Wakefield resident Liam Deane, 22, was discovered dead in his cell at HMP Leeds.
For killing his two-day-old daughter in October of last year, he had been imprisoned.
Following a trial at Leeds Crown Court, 29-year-old John Westland—who was serving a term for rape and severe bodily harm—was found guilty of Deane’s murder and will be sentenced to at least 19 years in prison.
Sentencing him, Judge Rodney Jameson QC told the inmate: “You told the jury that you believed Liam Deane was a sex offender, but he was not.”
“He had committed a very serious crime, but had admitted it from the first and was trying to come to terms with what he had done.”
“It is an unfortunate consequence of life in prison that those who are themselves guilty of serious offences, as you were, will find another inmate to look down on.”
“Given the nature of your own conviction, some might find that to be rank hypocrisy.”
Deane’s murder of his newborn daughter was deemed “an appalling crime that tore her family apart” by West Yorkshire Police, but they also stated that he was entitled to his prison sentence.
Jurors heard testimony during Westland’s week-long trial that the convict killed his cellmate with a broken bottle of cologne and that the victim had displayed symptoms of asphyxiation from pressure on his face and head.
Prison guards discovered Deane in a cell at approximately 05:30 GMT, covered in blood.
Glass fragments and fingerprints that matched Westland’s were discovered on a chair close to the bunk bed.
Westland informed the jury Because of the nature of his crime, Deane was frequently referred to as a “baby killer” around the prison and was subjected to daily threats and taunts.
In addition, he claimed that his cellmate owed money to other inmates.
After confessing to raping and assaulting a woman in her 50s whom he had met in a nightclub, Westland, who is from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was first imprisoned in 2008.
Oxford Crown Court was informed at the time that he had seriously injured his victim, including breaking her jaw, by punching her in the face. In addition, he had a history of convictions for assaulting elderly ladies.
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