By . Daniel Miller . PUBLISHED: . 08:41 EST, 7 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:47 EST, 7 October 2012 . Free: Janette Mercer, who lied to police to protect her son Sean Mercer, has been released from prison . The mother of the killer of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, who lied to police in an attempt to protect her son, is enjoying her freedom following her release from prison. Jannette Mercer, 54, was sentenced to three years in jail in 2009, for perverting the course of justice in an attempt to protect her son Sean Mercer. But she has now completed her sentence, and was seen shopping in Liverpool, the Sunday Mirror reported. Sean Mercer, now 21, was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years for the killing of Rhys Jones who was shot in the back on his way home from football training in 2007. Tragic Rhys became the innocent victim of a bloody turf war fought between two notorious Liverpool gangs the Croxteth Crew and the Strand Gang from Norris Green. After hearing rival gangsters were near the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park, Mercer, just 16 at the time, armed himself with a gun and rode to the pub before letting off three shots at his intended targets. Rhys was hit by the second shot. Janette Mercer had backed up her son's denial of the shooting telling police he did not own a silver bicycle that he was captured on CCTV using to flee the scene. But investigators were able to prove that the bicycle had been delivered to her home five months earlier. Jeanette Mercer, who reportedly worked as a £50-a-day prostitute, quickly changed her plea from not guilty on the first day of her trail but the Judge told the court she had told 'a pack of lies'. After being evicted from the family home during her time inside she is now living in a terraced house around four miles from the scene of the murder. She is one of seven people linked to the murder to have since been freed from prison. Tragedy: Rhys Jones (left)  was shot and killed in 2007 by Liverpool gang member Sean Mercer (right) Last year Gary Kays and Melvin Coy, both 29, walked free after serving half their seven-year sentences. Kays was said to have made the phone call to killer Mercer telling him rival Norris Green gang members were at the Fir Tree pub, in Croxteth Park. Nathan Quinn, who disposed of the murder weapon and clothes worn by Shaun Mercer, has also been released. And it has also now emerged that the gang member who provided the gun that killed Everton fan Rhys could also be released after serving just four years. Murder weapon: The gun used in the fatal shooting . James Yates was jailed for 12 years for supplying the Smith and Wesson revolver used in the shooting. Yates, 23, who helped Mercer cover his tracks following the shooting, was originally jailed for seven years for assisting an offender and possessing a firearm, but the sentence was increased to 12 years by the High Court as it was 'unduly lenient'. Yates is now set to be put on a day release programme after being moved to Hatfield Open Prison in South Yorkshire this week. Rhys's dad Steve said: 'What you see on the outside is not necessarily what you get on the inside. 'We never really knew how the probation service and the prison service worked. 'If someone gets 12 years you expect them to serve a good wedge of that rather than serving four years and then being given the opportunity to get out. It's not what it says on the tin. 'We know he's eventually going to be . coming out but we don't feel he has served long enough or has been . punished suitably for what he's done. 'Is he going to learn his lesson? Probably not.' James Yates, (left)  who was jailed for 12 years for providing the gun, could be freed after serving just four years. Nathan Quinn (right) who disposed of the murder weapon and clothes worn by Shaun Mercer has also been released . Yates could be reunited with members of notorious gang the Croxteth Crew as he is to be assessed with a view to being granted five days on release each month. Julian Linskill, Yates's solicitor, said: 'Obviously he has conducted himself properly in prison otherwise this opportunity would not have been given to him.' A spokesman from the HM Prison Service said: 'Only prisoners representing minimal risk of escape and harm to the public are eligible for release on temporary licence.'They must pass a rigorous risk assessment.'
Janette Mercer served three years for perverting the course of justice .
She told police her son did not own a silver bike he was captured on CCTV using to flee scene of the murder .
But investigation proved it had been delivered to her house five months earlier .
By . Daniel Miller . PUBLISHED: . 08:41 EST, 7 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:47 EST, 7 October 2012 . Free: Janette Mercer, who lied to police to protect her son Sean Mercer, has been released from prison . The mother of the killer of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, who lied to police in an attempt to protect her son, is enjoying her freedom following her release from prison. Jannette Mercer, 54, was sentenced to three years in jail in 2009, for perverting the course of justice in an attempt to protect her son Sean Mercer. But she has now completed her sentence, and was seen shopping in Liverpool, the Sunday Mirror reported. Sean Mercer, now 21, was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years for the killing of Rhys Jones who was shot in the back on his way home from football training in 2007. Tragic Rhys became the innocent victim of a bloody turf war fought between two notorious Liverpool gangs the Croxteth Crew and the Strand Gang from Norris Green. After hearing rival gangsters were near the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park, Mercer, just 16 at the time, armed himself with a gun and rode to the pub before letting off three shots at his intended targets. Rhys was hit by the second shot. Janette Mercer had backed up her son's denial of the shooting telling police he did not own a silver bicycle that he was captured on CCTV using to flee the scene. But investigators were able to prove that the bicycle had been delivered to her home five months earlier. Jeanette Mercer, who reportedly worked as a £50-a-day prostitute, quickly changed her plea from not guilty on the first day of her trail but the Judge told the court she had told 'a pack of lies'. After being evicted from the family home during her time inside she is now living in a terraced house around four miles from the scene of the murder. She is one of seven people linked to the murder to have since been freed from prison. Tragedy: Rhys Jones (left)  was shot and killed in 2007 by Liverpool gang member Sean Mercer (right) Last year Gary Kays and Melvin Coy, both 29, walked free after serving half their seven-year sentences. Kays was said to have made the phone call to killer Mercer telling him rival Norris Green gang members were at the Fir Tree pub, in Croxteth Park. Nathan Quinn, who disposed of the murder weapon and clothes worn by Shaun Mercer, has also been released. And it has also now emerged that the gang member who provided the gun that killed Everton fan Rhys could also be released after serving just four years. Murder weapon: The gun used in the fatal shooting . James Yates was jailed for 12 years for supplying the Smith and Wesson revolver used in the shooting. Yates, 23, who helped Mercer cover his tracks following the shooting, was originally jailed for seven years for assisting an offender and possessing a firearm, but the sentence was increased to 12 years by the High Court as it was 'unduly lenient'. Yates is now set to be put on a day release programme after being moved to Hatfield Open Prison in South Yorkshire this week. Rhys's dad Steve said: 'What you see on the outside is not necessarily what you get on the inside. 'We never really knew how the probation service and the prison service worked. 'If someone gets 12 years you expect them to serve a good wedge of that rather than serving four years and then being given the opportunity to get out. It's not what it says on the tin. 'We know he's eventually going to be . coming out but we don't feel he has served long enough or has been . punished suitably for what he's done. 'Is he going to learn his lesson? Probably not.' James Yates, (left)  who was jailed for 12 years for providing the gun, could be freed after serving just four years. Nathan Quinn (right) who disposed of the murder weapon and clothes worn by Shaun Mercer has also been released . Yates could be reunited with members of notorious gang the Croxteth Crew as he is to be assessed with a view to being granted five days on release each month. Julian Linskill, Yates's solicitor, said: 'Obviously he has conducted himself properly in prison otherwise this opportunity would not have been given to him.' A spokesman from the HM Prison Service said: 'Only prisoners representing minimal risk of escape and harm to the public are eligible for release on temporary licence.'They must pass a rigorous risk assessment.'
in jail in 2009, for perverting the course of denial of the shooting telling police he did not own a silver bicycle that he was captured on CCTV using to flee the scene. But investigators were able to prove that the bicycle had been delivered to her home five months earlier. Jeanette Mercer, around four miles from the scene of the murder.