Joanna Simpson was killed by her estranged husband Robert Brown on October 31st, 2010. She was a fighter. She was a mother. She was a best friend. And in the hour before he killed her, she told Hetti she felt sorry for him.

In this powerful episode, Laura is joined by Hetti Barkworth- Nanton CBE — Joanna's closest friend, co-founder of the Joanna Simpson Foundation, and Chair of Refuge — for an honest and emotional conversation about the April 2026 parole board hearing, what it meant for those who loved Jo, and why the fight is far from over.

In this conversation Laura and Hetti cover:

- How the Not Another Jo Campaign ensured Brown was properly risk assessed.
- Why the onus is now on Brown to prove he is “safe” for release
- Why Robert Brown refused to appear — and how that decision backfired on him
- The fact finding hearing that formally recognised Jo as a victim of coercive and controlling behaviour for the very first time
- How the landmark ruling in the John Worboys serial r@pe case played a role in keeping Brown in prison
- Why Brown's 37-page handwritten self-assessment was rejected by every expert on the panel
- The concept of retained culpability and why the original trial judge's sentencing remarks proved pivotal
- How the campaign to stop Brown's automatic release — and the power of public voices — changed everything
- Why coercive control legislation has been a game changer for survivors — and what still needs to change
- Why psychopaths cannot be rehabilitated.

Jo has been vindicated. But there are too many women still not being believed.

🎧 To hear the full Joanna Simpson case from the beginning, listen to Case 004 on the Crime Analyst Podcast starting at Episode 103
https://www.crime-analyst.com/case-004-joanna-simpson-a-miscarriage-of-justice/

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