8:00am Thursday 23rd February 2012
THE family of a man killed in a road crash say they are disgusted the reckless driver who caused his death will be allowed to serve out his sentence in an open prison.
Gurpreet Dhillon was behind the wheel of a green jaguar convertible when it flipped into the air after hitting a roundabout and seriously injured his passenger, Tony Proctor.
Mr Proctor, 29, a dad-of-two from Birchwood Road, Corringham, later died in hospital, with his wife Anna by his side, when his life-support machine was switched off.
Dhillon, from Slough, was sentenced to eight years in jail in November 2009, after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving, driving without due care and attention and not giving a blood sample.
But Tony’s father, Terry, 59, has now been told Dhillon will serve the remainder of his jail term in an open prison, where prisoners are trusted to fulfill their sentences with minimal supervision.
Most open prisons have no walls or fences, while prisoners have keys to their own cells.
Terry said he is shocked Dhillon is being allowed to serve his sentence this way because it was hoped the severe punishment would serve as a warning to others.
Terry, who also lives in Corringham, said: “We were really shocked and angry.
“We knew he would probably only serve half of his sentence, but it’s so unfair he will be in a cushy open prison.
“We will be writing to the Home Office and our MP to complain.”
The crash happened in September 2008, in Clacton. Emergency services noticed Dhillon’s speech was slurred and they could smell alcohol on his breath, but he refused to have a blood sample taken.
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