The killer of social worker Ida James has had the minimum term he must serve in prison before he can be considered for release reduced by eight years.

Norris Simpson was jailed for life in April 2013 after being convicted of Ms James’s murder.

The body of Ms James, 66, was discovered on the floor of her Berry Hill, Paget home on the morning of September 2, 2011.

She had been stabbed 60 times.

Sentencing judge Charles-Etta Simmons ordered that Simpson should to serve a minimum term of 23 years behind bars before he could be considered for parole. But in light of a Privy Council ruling in October 2013 that minimum term was reduced to 15 years by the Court of Appeal.

Although the decision by the Court of Appeal changes when Simpson will become eligible to apply for parole he remains subject to a life sentence. The judgement by the Court of Appeal released this week states: “Ms Clarke for the Crown conceded before us that the direction to serve at least 23 years was unlawful in the light of the Privy Council’s construction of section 2 of 288(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1907 in the case of Selassie and Pearman v The Queen.

“This decision was given on October 8, 2013 — six months after the sentence was passed.

“In the light of the Privy Council’s decision the appropriate term was 15 years rather than 23 years. Parliament has since amended Section 288(1) giving the court a discretion as to the portion of a sentence that must be served before an application to the parole board for release on licence but this only became effective on September 19, 2014.

“It does not of course follow that the appellant will be released at or soon after he has served 15 years, simply that an application for release may be entertained or granted at that point.”

•It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. As we are legally liable for any slanderous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.