Who is Shane Jenkin? Man who gouged his girlfriend's eyes out denied parole for the FIFTH time
CORNWALL, ENGLAND: A man who gouged out his girlfriend's eyes and blinded her has been unsuccessful in his attempt to be freed from prison. After the Parole Board's ruling, 42-year-old Shane Jenkin was informed that he must remain behind bars for at least an additional two years. After hearing testimony from victim Tina Nash, his psychiatrist, and a nurse, it was determined that he was still extremely dangerous to be discharged.
After the assault on April 20, 2011, Nash, who'd been irreversibly rendered blind, made a victim impact statement. For irreparably blinding his partner in her Hayle, Cornwall home, Jenkin received a life sentence in prison in 2012. According to Truro Crown Court, Jenkin had viewed a tape about eye-clawing the night before he assaulted Nash.
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Tina was subjected to a preplanned, protracted, and savage onslaught and incurred terrible wounds.
A Parole Board representative stated: "We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Shane Jenkins following an oral hearing at the end of May this year. Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community."
"A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behavior change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims," the statement added. "Protecting the public is our number one priority. Under current legislation, he will be eligible for a further review in due course. The date of the next review will be set by the Ministry of Justice."
The verdict on the parole review was communicated to Jenkin in May. This was his fifth attempt to get his parole accepted. He is being housed in a high-security facility and has previously been hospitalized for mental health issues.
A statement given by the Parole Board in writing said: "He had spent recent years in a regime designed and supported by psychologists to help people recognize and deal with their problems. There were plans for him to move to a different regime which was also designed to help people recognize and deal with a wide range of complex problems."
"The psychologist had completed an assessment on Mr Jenkin and presented the findings to the panel. The psychologist, Mr Jenkin’s probation officer in the community and the official supervising his case in custody all recommended that he remain in prison," it added. "None of them supported transfer to open conditions. The panel considered that Mr Jenkin was appropriately located in custody where outstanding levels of risk could be addressed."
In May 2012, Nash testified that Jenkin assaulted her while she was sleeping at her house. Jenkin held her captive for 12 hours, choked her unconscious, and then blinded her despite her cries for help to call an ambulance. She underwent several procedures throughout her four-week hospital stay, but doctors were unable to salvage her eyes.
Nash, then 32, told the court about her anguish at the prospect of never seeing her two children again. She compared losing her vision to being buried alive.
The night before the horrifying assault, Jenkin and Nash had seen a scary movie that included a lady getting her eye pulled out. Judge Christopher Clarke described how Jenkin continuously gripped the victim by the throat while strangling her, causing her to lose consciousness and occasionally have hallucinations.
However, this was not the first time Jenkin had assaulted Nash. She admitted that despite his repeated assaults, she had hoped to alter Jenkin's aggressive tendencies. However, she advised other domestic abuse victims to leave as soon as they get a chance.
Additionally, Jenkin had allegedly been accused of violating parole after an abuse conviction three months before he blinded Nash. He had also been barred from his neighborhood bars because of his violent behavior.
The abuser was given a life sentence in a psychiatric health facility with a minimum six-year sentence requirement before becoming eligible for parole. His instant petition against his conviction was denied by the Court of Appeal.
His attorneys argued that if the life sentence is overturned, he could be released once his doctors determined that he had recovered from his psychiatric condition. However, the court decided that Jenkin was risky whether or not he had a mental illness.
After her horrific experience with Jenkin, Tina started advocating against domestic abuse. She penned a novel addressing the epidemic of domestic violence and pleaded with other survivors to get treatment and not remain quiet. She also shared her personal experience and advised women to leave violent situations "before it is too late."
In her book, 'Out Of The Darkness', she described how Jenkin knocked her senseless and stabbed out her eyeballs at her house, threatening her: "You're never going to see your kids again." Her 13-year-old and 3-year-old boys were sleeping in the same home during the 12-hour onslaught.
"I sat up and reached my hand to my face... and felt my eyeball hanging halfway down my cheek. I touched my slippery eyeball like I couldn't believe it was real. My other eye was swollen to the size of a tennis ball," she wrote. "It's not going to get better, it's going to get worse." She hopes the book would give others the courage to speak out against violence and be brave enough to take the necessary steps.