Damilola Taylor killer released from prison
One of the men convicted of killing 10-year-old Damilola Taylor has been released from prison, sources said tonight.
Ricky Preddie, 23, and his brother, Danny, 22, were jailed for eight years in October 2006 after being convicted of Damilola’s manslaughter.
Damilola moved to Britain from Nigeria a few months before he was found bleeding to death in a stairwell near his home in Peckham, south London.
His death, after he was jabbed in the thigh with a broken beer bottle by a gang of youths in November 2000, shocked the nation.
Ricky, who was 13 at the time of killing, was charged along with his brother in 2005 when forensic evidence, missed at the time, revealed tiny blood spots and fibres.
Damilola fell foul of the bullying brothers after walking home from the local library after school.
He bled to death in the stairwell as local workmen tried to save his life.
After the Preddies were sentenced at the Old Bailey, Damilola’s father, Richard Taylor, questioned whether the jail terms would act as a deterrent to others.
A spokesman for the family’s charity, The Damilola Taylor Trust, told the BBC that Mr Taylor knew about Ricky Preddie’s impending release and would not comment on it.
He added: “He has done his time and we have to respect that.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman refused to comment on reports of the release.
