A man who strangled a 14-year-old girl in Staten Island in 1976 has sparked fury in Britain after he was freed by US authorities on condition he lives in the UK – where he was born.
Dempsey Hawkins was considered too dangerous to leave prison by parole chiefs in New York and incarcerated for almost 40 years. However, he is now a free man walking the streets of Britain having lived in the UK until he was six years old.
Hawkins was aged 16 when he murdered Susan Jacobson after she broke up with him. He strangled her with a shirt in Staten Island and hid her body in a 55-gallon oil barrel. He then joined search parties organized by Susan’s family when she was reported missing.
Miss Jacobson’s body was discovered in 1978; Hawkins was found guilty of her murder following a trial. He was denied parole multiple times since he first became eligible in 2000.
Although he had reports of good behavior while serving time, prison bosses were concerned by his manipulative actions following the crime. But last year his legal team suggested a deal. Hawkins, now 57, was granted parole on condition he was deported back to England, where he was born and lived until the mid-1960s.
A criminologist at Cambridge University vouched for him and last month Hawkins arrived in London where he was given a British passport.
After decades in jail, Hawkins is aid to be working in a restaurant in the university city of Cambridge, about 50 miles from London.
But the family of Susan Jacobson are unhappy about his release, as are sections of the media. Her sister, Barbara Reno, said: “We don’t feel it’s fair he’s being released, but we are happy he’s deported [to the UK] and not here.” She told the Sun: “I think he’s very capable of killing again.”
