Maria Pearson is Britain’s longest serving female prisoner and one of its most unsettling cases. Dubbed the 'forgotten prisoner', she has spent decades behind bars, yet still refuses to accept responsibility for a brutal murder that shocked the nation.

In 1987, driven by jealousy and rage, she stalked and stabbed a young woman 17 times in the street. It was calculated, savage, and final.

What followed is just as chilling. Nine parole rejections. Repeated failures to engage with rehabilitation. Allegations of bullying and intimidation inside prison walls. And still, she insists it was self defence.

So what keeps someone locked in that mindset for nearly forty years? And should the system ever release a prisoner who will not admit guilt? Geoffrey and Molly Wansell discuss Maria Pearson in this latest episode of Blood Ties.

CREDITS: 

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

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