Stephen Jackley

Stephen Jackley is a convicted British robber and author. He served time in American and British prisons from 2008 to 2015. He has Asperger's syndrome, and his book, Just Sky, explores the impact of this condition on his life. Jackley has been followed by the press, both in the United States and the United Kingdom, because of the unusual nature of his crimes.

Biography

Jackley was born in Exeter, Devon.

In 2008, Jackley was arrested in the United States, after getting caught in Vermont using a fake ID to buy a firearm. A year later, he was returned to the United Kingdom where he was convicted of a series of armed robbery related offences on banks, building societies and bookmakers. Jackley's offences stood out owing to his use of "calling cards" and statements that he believed himself a "modern day Robin Hood", who allegedly gave some of his loot to charities and homeless people. What made his offences more unusual was that he was then a student at Worcester University, studying sociology and geography. He went on to appeal his sentence, which the Court of Appeal reduced from 13 to 12 years on the basis of his condition, Asperger's Syndrome, making prison life harder than for other offenders. Whilst in custody he took up a string of court cases, involving prisoners access to IT equipment for legal representation, and a 'home detention curfew' policy.

Jackley was released in May 2015. It has been reported that he is a trustee and national coordinator of the UK prison-reform organisation, Justice in Prisons. He is actively involved in penal issues and prisoner rehabilitation. He also started a consultancy social enterprise called StarUp CIC in 2016, of which he is named as a director.

Works

Jackley has published books including Just Sky (an autobiography) and Good Intentions (a crime thriller), and anthologies of short stories/essays. In early 2015, he helped found the publishing enterprise, Arkbound Ltd, where he is managing editor of the Bristol magazine Boundless.

Further reading

• "U.K. Citizen Indicted for Attempting to Buy Handgun" (Press release). U.S. Department of Justice. 28 May 2008. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018 – via HighBeam Research.
• "Midland man allegedly used fake ID in firearm attempt". Birmingham Mail. 27 May 2008.
• "Worcester student tried to buy gun for 'a bet'". Birmingham Post. 28 May 2008.
• "Worcester university student arrested over firearms offences". Birmingham Post. 13 May 2009.
• Bingham, John (19 August 2009). "Stephen Jackley, student behind armed bank raids, claimed to be "modern day Robin Hood"". The Telegraph.
• "Armed 'Robin Hood' raider jailed". BBC. 21 August 2009.
• "Student claiming to be modern Robin Hood jailed for 13 years". The Telegraph. 22 August 2009.
• Stote, Martin (22 August 2009). "13 years for 'Robin Hood' of criminals". Daily Express.
• ""Robin Hood" Worcester robber whines that UK jails are tougher than US". Birmingham Mail. 6 June 2010.
• "Asperger's robber wins opening part of appeal". Worcester News. 17 May 2012.
• "Appeal hearing for 'Robin Hood' robber with Asperger's". Western Morning News. Plymouth. 18 May 2012.
• "'Robin Hood' robber's bid to cut prison term". Worcester News. 27 June 2012.
• Cole, Paul (24 March 2013). "Bank raider: I could have been modern-day Robin Hood". Birmingham Mail.
• "Exeter 'Robin Hood' robber represents himself in legal bid to sue Justice Secretary". Express & Echo. Exeter. 29 January 2015.