Pensioners 'better off' in prison

Convicted killer Michael Sams believes he is better off in prison than he would be as a free pensioner.

Sams was given four life sentences in 1993 for the murder of Leeds teenager Julie Dart and the rape and kidnap of estate agent Stephanie Slater.

The one-legged murderer from Sutton-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, wrote to Inside Time, a national newspaper for prisoners, in response to a campaign for older inmates to receive their pension and he bragged that his life in HMP Whitemoor was better than he could expect living on a state pension.

Sams said: "How many pensioners in the community, who are totally dependent on the basic state pension and live in rented accommodation, are able to spend around £20 per week on luxuries?

"Most struggle to keep warm in winter, afraid to put the heating on, barely eating, let alone getting three square (ready-made) meals per day. And three or four choices per course at that!

"Have you ever seen an OAP inmate in tatty clothes or scruffy trainers? Not a hope! Materially, we OAPs in prison are far better off than those in the community."

Sams is against pensions for prisoners, but said retired inmates who are unable to work should receive the same amount of pay as those who can earn a steady income.

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