Adam Carruthers, one of the two men convicted for cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree, has been released from prison after serving 50% of his custodial sentence under the Home Detention Curfew Scheme. Adam Carruthers was released in March under curfew and is required to wear an electronic tag. Carruthers, from Wigton in Cumbria, has now been released under the Home Detention Curfew Scheme, the Ministry of Justice confirmed.
Adam Carruthers, 33, along with Daniel Graham, 39, was sentenced to four years and three months in July last year for causing criminal damage to the famous tree beside Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. Judge Mrs Justice Lambert told the pair they would serve 40% of the sentence behind bars, with the remainder on licence in the community. The judge told Carruthers and Graham they would serve a maximum of 40 percent of the sentence, which would have meant Carruthers' release in January 2027.
Officials said the release was standard practice and Carruthers became eligible for the scheme after serving 50% of the custodial part of his sentence, following a risk assessment by the prison governor. The decision to release Carruthers was taken by the prison governor after a risk assessment.
Former friends Graham and Carruthers were convicted of criminal damage to the much-loved tree, which had stood for more than 100 years in a dip in the Northumberland landscape. They were also convicted of criminal damage to Hadrian’s Wall, caused when the sycamore fell on it in September 2023.
A video was filmed of the moment the Sycamore Gap tree was felled. During their trial, Newcastle Crown Court heard the two engaged in a “moronic mission” to cut down the landmark. They travelled for more than 40 minutes from their homes in Cumbria and carried their equipment across pitch-black moorland during a storm. They took a wedge, which has never been recovered, from the tree as a trophy and revelled in the media coverage as news of the vandalism caused national and international outrage.
The tree's felling in September 2023 prompted an outpouring of grief, affection, and reflection from millions of people.
The National Trust has launched a public vote to help select the artist who will create a new public artwork from the wood saved after the illegal felling of the Sycamore Gap tree in 2023. The vote invites people across the UK and around the world to choose from six shortlisted proposals for the artwork.
The winning proposal will form a major nationwide commission to honor what the Sycamore Gap tree meant to people.
The final selection for the artwork will combine 30% public vote and 70% judges' score.
The wood from the tree has been carefully stored and seasoned over the past 28 months and is now ready for artists to work with.
The specific conditions of Carruthers' release beyond electronic tagging, such as curfew hours or location restrictions, have not been publicly detailed. The current status or release timeline for Daniel Graham, the other convicted man, is also unclear.
Details about the six shortlisted proposals for the National Trust's public artwork from the Sycamore Gap wood have not been disclosed, including their artistic concepts or themes. The exact location or planned installation site for the winning artwork from the Sycamore Gap wood is yet to be announced, leaving open questions about whether it will be placed near the original site or in a different public space.