THE MOTHER of a 10-year-old boy who was killed by an XL Bully has voiced her disgust that the dog's owner has been released from prison.
Emma Whitfield's son Jack Lis, from Caerphilly, was killed by an XL Bully dog called Beast while playing at a friend's house in November 2021.
Since her son's death, Ms Whitfield has garnered widespread praise for her commitment to fighting for tighter rules around ownership of XL Bullies, some of which in part contributed to the ban put in place at the start of this year.
Salter was sentenced to three years in prison for the offence of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death, and Ms Whitfield had previously expressed horror over Salter's release.
Hayden was sentenced to six months in a young offenders institute for both of the two counts of being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury.
He also received a sentence of four years and six months for the offence of being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death.
The three sentences were to be served concurrently.
However, Hayden has been released on licence from Thursday, August 15 until late 2026.
As part of the conditions of his licence, according to a post on social media from Ms Whitfield, Hayden must strictly stay out of Caerphilly county borough and have no animals in his possession, amongst other conditions.
Ms Whitfield has taken to social media to voice her disgust at Hayden's release.
BRANDON HEYDON - owner of the dog that killed my Jack is out on license after serving two years. Full message in photo due to word limits on here. pic.twitter.com/QgDP5ZtKl9
— Emma W #ForJackLis💙 (@Emma__Whitfield) August 14, 2024
She wrote in posts shared to both X and Facebook: "Considering he was held on remand for breaking his bail conditions of staying out of Penyrheol before he was sentenced, I’m not confident that he will stay away this time either.
"Anyone who sees him can report him to police for breaching licence conditions or crime stoppers if you want to stay anonymous.
"A little over two years in prison has been nothing compared to what this monster deserves."
According to the Ministry of Justice, when offenders are placed on licence, they face strict conditions including where they can travel and who they can contact, and they are under the supervision of the Probation Service.
They can be recalled to prison for breaching these conditions or exhibiting behaviour suggesting they pose an increased risk to the public.
The Ministry of Justice did not confirm the nature of the conditions of Hayden's licence.
A HM Prison and Probation Service spokesperson said: “Offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions and we do not hesitate to recall them to custody if they break the rules.”
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