Yorkshire Ripper begs to be let out of prison as he tells authorities 'I won't live another year'

The 'Yorkshire Ripper', Peter Sutcliffe, reportedly wants to be sent back to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital as mounting health issues – including a recent heart attack scare – have left the 71-year-old serial killer convinced he will be dead by next year.

Last August, Sutcliffe, who is serving life for the murder of 13 women, was transferred from Broadmoor to HMP Frankland. Since then, multiple media reports have claimed he is suffering from several major health issues – including severe chest pains and eyesight woes.

"He says that his health is failing and that prison life is slowly killing him," a source told The Daily Star in a report published Sunday (19 November). "Only last week he was telling inmates and officers, 'I won't survive another year in prison – this will be my last'."

"Sutcliffe has been banging on for months about getting back to Broadmoor. He claims he is mad not bad, and should be in a secure hospital," the source added.

Sutcliffe was convicted in 1981 but was sent to Broadmoor after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Since his transfer last year, however, he has come to believe that prison guards are attempting to poison him with drugs, and is said to detest one fellow notorious inmate, child-killer Ian Huntley.

But the Daily Star's source, who was not named, claimed that Sutcliffe likely wants to go back to the psychiatric facility because he had an easier life there.

The contact said: "There were shops where patients could buy sweets, fizzy drinks and crisps and he was treated as a celebrity by staff and inmates.

"In Frankland he is just another psycho and there are a lot of killers more infamous than him, which is one of the reasons why he wants to get out."

This weekend (18 November), The Sun carried its own report on Sutcliffe – revealing he was recently rushed to hospital after suffering extreme chest pains and a shortage of breath.

The tabloid newspaper said the incident occurred just days after a separate trip to hospital when he allegedly received laser eye surgery at a National Health Service (NHS) facility.

While the report did not reveal exact dates, the surgery was first reported in mid-August.