Family of Stanley Metcalf, 6, shot dead by his great-grandad are shocked as he’s set free after just 18 months in jail
A 'REMORSELESS' OAP who killed his great-grandson after shooting him in the stomach with a pellet gun is due to be released from jail - just a year-and-a-half into his sentence.
Albert Grannon, now 79, shot six-year-old Stanley Metcalf at his home in Sproatley, East Yorkshire - but initially refused to accept responsibility for the tragedy.
He was jailed for three years after finally admitting manslaughter - and will be back walking the streets just halfway into the sentence, reports.
Family have now spoken of their shock - and say the little one's death should "never have happened".
Stanley's final words were, "Why have you shot me, grandad?" after Grannon "accidentally" fired his dangerously-modified weapon into his abdomen.
The tragedy happened on July 26 2018 at a family gathering to commemorate the loss of Grannon's fireman son Andrew, who had died in 2003.
Stanley had followed his great-grandad inside the house to look at the illegal air rifle bought to shoot rats, rabbits and squirrels.
The weapon had been modified with a more powerful spring. It was loaded and the safety catch was off.
Family sitting outside heard a shot ring out - but when mum Jenny Dees rushed in, she believed Stanley was play acting.
But moments later, she discovered a wound the "size of a 5p piece" in Stanley's abdomen.
He was rushed to hospital, but medics couldn't save him.
A post-mortem examination found the youngster died as a result of a 'single penetrating injury' which damaged his bowel and a major artery in his pelvis and caused "massive blood loss".
Despite that, Ms Dees was forced to beg the courts to jail her grandfather - with Humberside cops saying he'd shown "no remorse" until he finally pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
He even posted a smug holiday picture to Facebook the day after what would have been the boy’s 7th birthday.
And Ms Dees told a judge her life has been "unbearable" since her son's death and that she struggles "to live, to eat and breathe."
During an emotional victim impact statement read aloud in court, she said: "Not once did he say sorry.
"Now if he did, it would be too little, too late.
"I hope you can live with yourself.
"Our whole world has changed forever.
"It is unbearable - we struggle to live, to eat and breathe.
"Nothing will make this better. Our hearts are totally broken.
"The pain in my heart is unbearable, I cry and cry and sometimes I think I'm not going to stop."
In the summer of 2019, Grannon was finally locked up for three years after admitting manslaughter and the possession of a firearm without a certificate.
But the defendant, who didn't apologise to Stanley's parents during the course of the court proceedings, will be free this week.
Probation service officials told the family he'll be released from prison on licence in the coming days.
A family member said: "It was something that should never have happened.
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"There were multiple actions on that day, from him loading that gun to squeezing the trigger, where if they hadn't happened the chances are Stanley would still be here."
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Grannon can be recalled to prison if he commits another offence or if he breaches the terms of his licence.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said: "Offenders released on licence are closely monitored and can be returned to prison if they breach strict conditions such as curfews and exclusion zones."