Please jail me – I won’t get the virus in prison
A stalker asked a judge to send him to jail because he believes he has less chance of contracting the coronavirus in prison.
Billy Widdrington, 35, breached a restraining order five times which banned him from contacting the victim and was handed a suspended sentence on 6 February.
He ‘immediately’ broke the rules of his suspended sentence by not turning up for his rehabilitation programme.
Widdrington appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today (thurs) via video-link from HMP Wandsworth and said he prefers being in prison than out on the streets at risk of catching Covid-19.
He smiled and thanked the judge as he was sentenced to five months imprisonment.
Sundeep Pankhania, defending, said: ‘Mr Widdrington tells me in the current pandemic climate he is extremely vulnerable and he asked for the sentence to be activated.
‘He doesn’t wish for the order to be extended because he is at risk in the community and he feels safer in custody.’
District Judge Sam Goozee said: ‘The expectations of your restraining order and suspended sentence were that you were to comply with two requirements, engaging with probation and drug rehabilitation.
‘Immediately you’ve gone into breach. You’ve simply failed to attend as instructed by the probation service.
‘You have a history of non-compliance. As a consequence I’m going to activate the sentence in full, 20 weeks imprisonment.’
‘Thank you very much,’ said Widdrington.
Widdrington, of no fixed address, admitted failing to comply with the community requirement of a suspended sentence.
He was sentenced to five months imprisonment.
ends
