15/11/02 - Campaigners react
to Hindley's death
The death of Myra Hindley has sparked a torrent of reaction
from campaigners who had wanted her released and those
people who worked on the Moors murderer case. Peter Topping,
a former investigating officer in the Hindley case, said
a "sense of rage" remains in the Manchester
area towards Hindley.
Mr Topping added: "It takes a great deal for somebody
to abduct young children as she did for Brady." He
went on: "She was a little more involved in the murders
than she admitted in her confession. There is a sense
of rage towards Hindley. It is particularly Hindley because
a lot of people felt Brady needed treatment. Hindley remained
a controlled figure and was responsible for what she did."
Former journalist Jim Stansfield covered the case from
when a body was first discovered on the moors until the
end of Brady and Hindley's trial. "She (Hindley)
was evil. The police told me that when she was arrested
she was worse than Brady - she would not cooperate or
talk. I think she was completely dominated by Brady and
she absolutely adored him and would do anything for him."
Labour peer Lord Pendry, formerly Tom Pendry and ex-MP
for Stalybridge and Hyde, has been concerned with the
Moors murders, as a constituency issue, since he entered
Parliament in 1970.
He said: "Nobody rejoices in the death of anyone.
I have been persuading every Home Secretary from the early
1970s to the present one that she should not be released,
not least because she would not stand a chance of living
if she got out."
Assistant general secretary of probation union Napo, Harry
Fletcher, said: "The families of the Moors victims
have suffered terribly over the years. However, the authorities
believed that Myra Hindley did show remorse."
Director of the Prison Reform Trust, Juliet Lyon, said:
"It's important to remember that Myra Hindley was
only one of 23 people serving whole life tariffs. Currently
there are nearly 73,000 people in prison and 100 of them
will have killed themselves in the course of the year."
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