Government ‘will have blood on their hands’ over indeterminate IPP sentences
Britain’s former chief judge has warned ministers will have blood on their hands if they refuse to take action to help prisoners whose indefinite sentences have been abolished.
A different colleague, John Thomas, who served as head of the judiciary as chief justice from 2013 to 2017, told the prisons minister that the government was still failing those trapped under “completely unfair” imprisonment for public protection (IPP).
As his colleagues in the House of Lords debated a series of changes to help IPP prisoners – which the government has refused to support – he warned in a fiery speech that more people would take their own lives or die in prison while serving these sentences. At least 94 prisoners died by suicide after losing hope of release.
Independent He has repeatedly called for a review of the sentences of all IPP prisoners, branded by the UN as “psychological torture”.
Lord Thomas said: “If we do not act now, we will have blood on our hands, and I use that word deliberately.
“We cannot shirk the responsibility to right an injustice. And what an injustice that is.”
Open-ended penalties were abolished in 2012, but not retroactively. This resulted in thousands of already convicted people being incarcerated without a release date until they convinced the Parole Board that it was safe to release them.
Victims of the scandal whose tragic cases stand out Independent We can also count Leroy Douglas, who spent almost 20 years in prison for stealing a cell phone; Thomas White, 42, who set himself on fire in his cell and served 13 years in prison for stealing a phone; and Abdullahi Suleiman, 41, who remains in prison 19 years after he was imprisoned for laptop robbery.
Lord Thomas, who tabled an amendment to the Criminal Code that would require IPP prisoners to be given a release date within two years at their next parole hearing, told prisons minister James Timpson that the government’s IPP action plan, designed to help prisoners progress on release, was a “failure”.
“This will not deliver justice in a timely manner and we must do something different,” he said. At the current pace, it will take at least a decade to release the remaining 2,422 IPP prisoners, even though some have already served up to 22 times their original minimum rate.
“It is absolutely accepted by everyone in principle that the sentence is wrong,” he added. “How can we, as a nation, continue to punish people with a phrase that is wrong in principle and based on the fallacy that you can predict human behavior? There is no justification for continuing that phrase. It is simply unfair.”
Labor Party member Tony Woodley, whose amendment calls for IPP prisoners to be punished or have their prison sentences replaced with a secure hospital order if they are seriously mentally harmed by the sentence, said ministers were “defending the indefensible”.
He added: “It is absolutely wrong – it is a great injustice – that poor mental health, which in many cases has been directly caused by this sentence, which has not been recognized and repealed by this parliament, is used to sentence anyone to indefinite, preventive detention.
“We’re stuck in a prison where mental health is going to get worse, where there’s going to be more suicides, where there’s going to be more despair.”
His Conservative peer and shadow justice minister Richard Keen admitted IPP sentences were a “stain on our justice system”.
He said: “Under our criminal justice system, we do not arrest and imprison people because we perceive that they will probably or even definitely commit an offense at some undetermined and uncertain point in the future. But, my lords, that is essentially the basis for keeping IPP prisoners in custody after they have served the prison sentence for their original offences.”
But Lord Timpson insisted the government would not consider any measures to release prisoners who fail the Parole Board’s release test, adding: “We cannot take any action that would put victims or the public at risk.”
The row comes after the prime minister faced demands to help an autistic man who was sentenced to 18 years under an IPP for stealing a car.
Shipley MP Anna Dixon said during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday: “I met with constituents Mike and Sue this week. Their autistic son Jimmy was sent to prison as a young man.
“The judge recommended a sentence of two and a half years. Jimmy is now in his forties and has been in prison for almost 20 years on an IPP sentence. Jimmy’s doctors say he is safe and in good condition for discharge. A supported living home awaits him.”
“Will the Prime Minister help end the injustices caused by IPP sentences and support Jimmy’s parents to get him home?”
In response, Sir Keir Starmer said: “This is a truly shocking case. The justice secretary will review this case and meet with him to discuss his concerns to see what more can be done.”
“It is right that the IPP sentence has been abolished and we are committed to supporting the progress of all those serving such sentences.”
