The family of an elderly couple who died in an arson attack have criticised Labour’s soft justice plan to release serious criminals early after being told two of their killers will serve just half their sentences in jail.

Relatives of Sheila Jackson, 83, and Eric Greener, 77, said Kylie Maynard and Lee Owens, who were convicted of the couple’s manslaughter, had ‘essentially gotten away with it’ because prisons were too full to keep them inside.

The beloved grandparents, who had been together for 30 years, were innocent victims of a ‘wicked’ revenge plot masterminded by drug dealer Kevin Weetman.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the intended target was Mrs Jackson’s son, George, 48, who lived with the couple and was involved in a dispute with Weetman over a £400 bag of cocaine.

Mr Jackson claimed the drugs had been given to him as a thank you ‘gift’ when he allowed Maynard, 37, one of Weetman’s low level dealers, to stay with him after she was beaten up.

But Weetman wanted Mr Jackson to sell the drugs for him and when he refused, he planned to ‘burn’ him out as ‘punishment’ and to ‘save face.’

Weetman recruited another two dealers, Owens, 46, and Paul Smith, 40, who, in the early hours of July 15 last year, rode to Mr Jackson’s home and set it alight.

He was out at the shop at the time and returned minutes later to see the terraced property, in St Helens, Merseyside, ablaze and engulfed in thick smoke.

Sheila Jackson and Eric Greener died as a result of the fire at their home in Merseyside. Liverpool Crown Court heard the intended target was Mrs Jackson’s son, George

Lee Owens, 46, Kevin Weetman, 34, and Kylie Maynard, 37, (from left to right) were all cleared of murder but convicted of the couple’s manslaughter

Neighbours reported hearing a woman’s high-pitched screams coming from the property and seeing Mrs Jackson later shouting for help from an upstairs window

Mrs Jackson and Mr Greener were rescued by firefighters but died days later.

Weetman, Owens and Maynard were cleared of murder following a trial and instead the jury convicted Weetman and Maynard of the couple’s manslaughter. 

Owens, who told the court he was ‘drunk and drugged up to the eyeballs’ on the night of the attack, pleaded guilty to the same charge. The court heard that Smith took his own life a week after the fire.

In February, Maynard, of Everton, Liverpool, was sentenced to 23 years, and Owens, of no fixed address, was jailed for 13-and-a-half years. At the time the pair were warned that they would serve two thirds of this sentence before they could be released on licence. 

But a spokesman for the couple’s family told the Liverpool ECHO they had recently received a letter and visit from victim support to say both would likely only serve half their terms before being freed.

‘We feel angry and upset,’ the relative, who didn’t want to be named, said.

‘We never got the justice we deserved in the first place and now they’re not even keeping them inside. 

‘They’ve not even been in prison five months and already they’re getting time knocked off. 

‘It seems like the justice system is favouring the criminals and not sparing a second thought for the families affected. Our nan and grandad weren’t given a second chance, so why should they?’

Weetman, of Aigburth, Liverpool, who was sentenced to life in prison, will not benefit from the early release plan and must serve 25 years before being eligible for parole. 

Mrs Jackson was rescued from the house but died in hospital two days later

Mr Greener died the day after the blaze 

‘It doesn’t apply to Weetman, but it does apply to Owens and Maynard,’ the relative added.

‘They will likely get years knocked off their sentence, which is just ridiculous.

‘When the verdict came in of manslaughter instead of murder, they all laughed (in the dock) because they thought they’d gotten away with it.

‘Now they have essentially gotten away with it because they’re being let out 50 per cent early because the prisons are overcrowded. 

‘That’s not our fault (but) it diminishes everything we have been through and fought for. It makes us feel they (Mrs Jackson and Mr Greener) don’t matter.’

The relative said that the loss of ‘fiery redhead’ Mrs Jackson, a retired factory worker, and Mr Greener, who were devoted to each other, had ‘changed’ their family forever.

‘They were the queen and king of our family and everything revolved around them,’ the family member said. ‘All of that is gone.

‘Eric loved Sheila. Every year at Christmas he’d get down on one knee and ask her to marry him. They were so loving, so caring, and well-loved.

‘They would still be here if it wasn’t for them (Weetman, Maynard and Owens).’

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said the Government had inherited a prison system in crisis and insisted those released face tough restrictions on their movements, including electronic tagging.

But, as of March, 5,450 criminals – 14 per cent of the 37,600 subjected to tagging orders – had not been fitted with a tag – despite being ordered to wear one by the courts.

And, according to a National Audit Office report published this week, one in seven criminals that should be tagged never get one fitted because of flaws with the system.

The report said questions remain about whether tagging can be ‘safely scaled up’ to monitor offenders in the community because key elements of the operation are ‘not yet working effectively’ which ‘increases the risk of poor performance and threats to public protection.’

The MoJ spokesman added: ‘Public safety and supporting victims is our top priority. 

‘Offenders who a judge has deemed the most dangerous are automatically blocked from early release, and prisoners who behave badly while behind bars face being locked up for longer.

‘Anyone who is released faces tough rules, such as restrictions on their movements, tagging, being banned from attending public events, pubs and clubs, backed by our record £700m investment into probation and 1,300 extra probation officers.’