Stephen Archer: Convicted murderer escape with ex-prison officer's help after they got into relationship
DERBYSHIRE, ENGLAND: An ex-prison officer formed a relationship with a convicted murderer before assisting him in escaping from Derbyshire jail, as per Derbyshire Live. The open prison HMP Sudbury is where Jane Archer first met her partner Stephen Archer, who she later drove back to her house, according to evidence presented at Derby Crown Court. The relationship is believed to have started after she left the prison service, even though they were not married and she had changed her last name to his.
Prosecutor Mark Achurch stated that Stephen Archer was sentenced to life in prison for murder in 1995 and met the defendant, who was then a prison officer while serving at HMP Ranby. He claimed that although they were together for 14 years without getting married, she changed her last name to his after she left the prison service.
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The 55-year-old Jane Archer reportedly drove the prisoner to the Folkestone and Dover region, where he hid out for a few days, according to testimony given in court. After that, he gave her a call asking her to come get him, and she drove to the South East Coast to pick him up. When their vehicle came to a stop on the M6 heading toward Manchester, they were both detained by police.
Handing Jane Archer an 18-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, Judge Shaun Smith KC stated, "A number of years ago, in your capacity as a prison officer, you formed a relationship with a lifer, Stephen Archer, who was in prison for murder. The relationship carried on for a long time and in May 2019, he walked out of Sudbury and you know why as you had driven to pick him up."
The defendant then stated during her police interview that the scheme to flee Derbyshire had "nothing to do with her," which the judge referred to as "a cock and bull story." The judge said, "He remained at large for a number of days during which you were involved and you then gave the police a cock and bull story about your involvement. Helping somebody escape from prison, in whatever format, is a serious offense. It is more serious in your case because you worked in the prison system and you knew how it worked. He was in custody for murder and you knew the system. I am not saying you planned it but I don't believe you didn't know there was a plan because you drove him to Dover and when he wanted to come back you picked him up."
According to the prosecutor, Stephen Archer was met by the defendant as he left HMP Sudbury on the day of the escape, May 15, 2019, and was then driven to her house in the Rotherham region, where he spent the night. The next day, she drove him to Folkestone, where they made reservations at Premier Inn and stayed the night, according to Achurch. He said, "They went to an Argos store where she bought him a mobile phone and she left and returned to Rotherham leaving him there. Nine days later, she drove back to Folkestone and picked him up and the car was stopped on the M6 in Cheshire." He added, "It appears Archer was in the Dover area during that time and he has already been dealt with, receiving a four-month jail sentence and being returned to a category B prison (Sudbury is a category D open prison)."
Jane Archer, a resident of Maltby near Rotherham, admitted to helping a criminal evade legal custody and has never been convicted before. Judge Smith mandated that she complete 200 hours of unpaid work as part of the suspended sentence and go to 20 rehabilitation sessions with the probation service.
In his mitigation, Chris Brewin stated that his client "felt manipulated and emotionally blackmailed" into joining the plan to help in her partner's release from prison. He stated, "She maintains the plan was to drive him to the Manchester area where he was going to hand himself in the hope of being sent to a prison in that area close to where his family is from. She has hit the depths and really regrets what she did."