From the killer cop who maybe out in four years to the double murderer who will not trouble a parole board for four decades

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Their wicked deeds will be remembered for generations and have been immortalised in news reports. But at some point in the future the region's most notorious criminals could be set free from their jail cells - if they live to see the day.

Our courts have imposed a number of hefty prison terms in the last 18 months, with many murderers seeing 'minimum terms' upwards of two decades behind bars. Of course, their mandatory life sentence means that is only the time when they can be considered for a life back among society. It is not an automatic release date.

Obviously the mere prospect of a killer being able to walk the streets ever again would be unbearable to any loved ones of the victim's whose life they have taken. It is a not an unpopular opinion among many that a life sentence 'should mean life'.

READ MORE: 'Nice one' - swearing Lee Martin's reaction at court as he counts sentence on his fingers

Below we have detailed the possible release dates for some of the highest-profile criminals from our area jailed since the start of 2021. Many will not trouble a parole board until 2040 while one double murderer will be behind bars until at least 2060.

In most cases we have provided ranges calculated from the date of the incident to the date of sentence, due to the fact serious offenders are typically held in custody on remand with those days counting as time served. It is also worth pointing out that a recent law-change means criminals sentenced to seven years or more now serve two thirds of the term in prison before being released, as opposed to half. Scroll through the list below.

Zephaniah McLeod stabbed student Jacob Billington to death and injured seven other people in a knife rampage in Birmingham city centre in September 2020. He spontaneously launched the series of attacks, then dumped a knife in a drain after slashing his first victims only to return home to Selly Oak to re-arm himself with another blade.

McLeod, in his 20s, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He was handed a life sentence after admitting the manslaughter of 23-year-old Mr Billington and pleading guilty to four charges of attempted murder and three of wounding with intent.

Initially he was sent to a secure mental health facility. Birmingham Crown Court heard he would only be transferred to a prison if deemed well enough. He was sentenced in November last year where he was handed a minimum term of 21 years.

Benjamin Monk killed Aston Villa hero Dalian Atkinson after resorting to unreasonable and unlawful force whilst serving as a West Mercia Police officer. The 48-year-old retired footballer, who had been battling numerous health problems in his final years, was suffering from an apparent episode of psychosis at his father's home in Meadow Close, Telford, in the early hours of Monday, August 15, in 2016.

Monk arrived at the scene and Tasered Mr Atkinson three times, including holding the trigger for 33 seconds on the final attempt, because he failed to stop advancing towards him. When he fell to the ground the officer kicked him at least two times in the head leaving the imprint of his boot laces on his face.

Mr Atkinson went into a cardiac arrest and died around one hour later. Monk argued he acted in reasonable self defence claiming he was terrified for his life. After being convicted of manslaughter he was jailed for eight years at Birmingham Crown Court in June last year.

Gareeca Gordan killed her former friend Phoenix Netts then mutilated her body with a circular saw and tried to dump suitcases containing her remains in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. The victim had shared a hostel in Lozells, Birmingham, with Gordon, but spurned her requests for a sexual relationship.

Gordon subsequently murdered her on April 16, 2020 then pretended to be the victim by messaging her family as she tried to cover her own tracks. She was arrested next to a quarry entrance at the Forest of Dean.

Gordon pleaded guilty to murder. She was jailed for a minimum of 23 years and six months at Bristol Crown Court in May last year.

Saghawat Ramzan killed two people - including his own brother - with a crossbow in defence of a cannabis factory in Brierley Hill. The drugs farm at a house in Pensnett Road, next door to where he lived, was targeted by a gang in February 2020.

Among the raiders was 19-year-old Khuzaimah Douglas who was captured at the scene. But Ramzan bundled his first attempted execution when he fired the weapon and accidentally hit his sibling Waseem Ramzan, who sustained fatal injuries. Undeterred he reloaded the crossbow and successfully fired a bolt at Mr Douglas who died shortly afterwards.

Saghawat Ramzan was convicted of double murder while his son Omar Ramzan and associate Mohammed Sageer - who along with Waseem Ramzan had tried to hold Mr Douglas down - were found guilty of murder and manslaughter. In March last year at Wolverhampton Crown Court the trio were jailed for life with the younger Ramzan receiving 22 years minimum and Sageer getting 20 years minimum.

They will be up for parole between 2040 to 2043. Saghawat Ramzan was given a minimum of 33 years.

Carvel Bennett raped a 13-year-old girl in the 1970s causing her to fall pregnant. The baby girl was put up for adoption but upon becoming a teenager she learned the truth of her conception after obtaining her social services records.

DNA results proved Bennett, now in his 70s and from Erdington, was her biological father. During a trial he admitted having sexual intercourse with the victim but bizarrely claimed she had initiated it after telling him she was 16.

A jury rejected his account in less than two hours and found him guilty of rape. Bennett was jailed for 11 years at Birmingham Crown Court in August last year.

Jonathan Houseman murdered two men to avoid paying back a £200,00 debt. He shot dead Will Henry, aged 31, and Brian McIntosh, 29, as they sat in a Range Rover at the Albion Works off Moor Street, in Brierley Hill, Dudley, on September 30, in 2020.

Houseman had wracked up debts after working in waste clearance with the victims, both from Bartley Green, who had increased the pressure for him to pay it back, a jury was told. After carrying out the executions he was assisted in disposing of evidence by Richard Avery, in his 30s, of no fixed address, who was convicted of perverting the course of justice and jailed for two years and six months.

Houseman, in his 30s, formerly of Quarry Park Road, Stourbridge, was found guilty of double murder at Birmingham Crown Court where he was jailed for a minimum of 40 years in September.

Lee Martin stabbed his former girlfriend in the leg after ambushing her at Robin Hood Cemetery in Shirley. He then kidnapped her for 24 hours and went on a crime rampage across Birmingham as police launched a high-profile manhunt.

Martin took 'revenge' on his ex-partner for breaking up with him by hiding in a car as she visited her sister's grave before he jumped out and attacked. He threatened to kill her as he 'terrorised' her through the night whilst she was bleeding heavily from the wound to her thigh.

Martin eventually let her go after she agreed to get back with him under his disturbingly controlling terms. But he then proceeded to wreak havoc across the city, typically targeting lone female drivers whilst armed with a knife.

After the initial attack at the cemetery on September 5 last year, Martin was eventually arrested on September 14. He was found guilty of wounding, kidnap, false imprisonment and threats to kill whilst he admitted more than a dozen offences in relation to his subsequent crime spree, including three robberies.

Last month at Birmingham Crown Court he was jailed for 18 years, prompting the 'dangerous' criminal to count his sentence on his fingers as he struggled to keep pace with the judge's ruling.

Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh ran a £30m cocaine and cannabis smuggling empire whilst living in a bulletproof mansion in Tamworth. The Irishman, in his 50s, was believed to be the 'main man in the UK' for the Kinahan organised-crime cartel in his homeland, the National Crime Agency stated.

Kavanagh, nicknamed 'the Gaffer', headed up a lucrative drug smuggling and money laundering enterprise before being arrested at Birmingham Airport as he returned to the UK in January 2019. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to import Class A and B drugs as well as money laundering.

At Ipswich Crown Court in March this year he was jailed for 21 years. Brother-in-laws Daniel Canning and Gary Vickery received 19 and 20 year terms respectively for their involvement.

Emma Tustin battered her six-year-old step-son Arthur Labinjo-Hughes to death in her hallway - then claimed he had inflicted his own injuries. She and partner Thomas Hughes, Arthur's father, had subjected the boy to weeks of abuse at their home in Cranmore Road, Shirley, during the first national Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

Both regularly beat Arthur and made him stand alone in their hallway for up to 14 hours a day. Hughes, aged 29 at the time, was convicted of manslaughter and two counts of child cruelty.

He was jailed for 21 years following a trial at Coventry Crown Court last December. Tustin, in her 30s, was also found to have poisoned Arthur with salt as well as deprived him of food and water.

She was convicted of murder and four counts of child cruelty and received a minimum of 29 years. Their sentences are currently under review after the Attorney General applied for longer punishments.

Possible release - Tustin: 2049 to 2050. Hughes: 2034 to 2035

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