Two prisoners are missing after failing to return to Sudbury Prison in Derbyshire on the same day.

Christopher Weston, 34, was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder in November 2005.

Daniel Walker, 28, was jailed for robbery in November 2006 and escaping from lawful custody in March 2011.

Both men were released from the open prison on temporary licence and failed to return on Monday. Police have appealed for information to trace them.

Why was someone sentenced to life in an open prison anyway, nevermind given the opportunity to abscond by being out on licence? I thought open prisons were for petty criminals, not people convicted of attempted murder.

He might have been there as a prelude to eventual release. Many people in open prison can come and go without problems. They are assessed before they sent there.


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What is the minimum custody period for a life sentence? Being sent to country club after eight years doesn't seem like all that much of a deterrent.

Yes but many "killers" are not necessarily a risk to others. I know one released murderer who killed someone when drunk, he was a soldier so more than capable of defending himself lethally. He has been released, on license. It does not mean that he is a danger to the public at large.

I understand, it's just that attempted murder usually carries a lesser sentence than murder*; so the attempt must have been particularly brutal.

*never understood that, btw. In the words of Kevin Bridges, why should you get a reduced sentence for making an ar$e of it?