‘Give them hope’: Prisoners trapped for 20 years for stealing phone under ‘cruel’ indefinite IPP jail terms could finally get release date under new proposals
Desperate prisoners who are sentenced to up to 20 years of imprisonment for small crimes such as stealing a cell phone can finally get a release date under new offers.
British leading justice experts have finally published a series of suggestions to end the prison prison sentence of Public Protection (IPP) imprisonment, which caused prisoners to stop in prison for 22 times longer than their original sentences.
A panel directed by Lord John Thomas, once the most senior judge of Britain, a panel gathered by the Howard Penal Reform League, the government, will call the prisoner to recover the hopes of 2.614 prisoners under the conditions of an illegal stain in our justice system.
IPP prison terms were removed in 2012, but not backward, but left imprisoned ones indefinitely.
Victims of the scandal of tragic cases emphasized IndependentLeroy Douglas, who served for about 20 years to play a mobile phone; 42 -year -old Thomas White burned himself in his cell and served to play a phone for 13 years; And 41 -year -old Abdullahi Suleman, who was still 19 years later after being imprisoned for a laptop robbery.
Although consecutive governments acknowledged that the prison sentence was a mistake, the Justice Committee refused to annoy them.
At least 94 IPP prisoners detained their lives because they lost hope of being released, but among those who were released, 37 self -death deaths, but lived with fear of withdrawing to imprisonment indefinitely for small violations of solid undergraduate conditions.
On Monday, the expert panel will finally set up six suggestions to the Ministry of Justice to give the release date to the prison and to end the recall cycle.
Lord Thomas Say Independent: “We should not maintain this injustice.”
He would see offers:
- Each IPP prisoner gave a release date in a two -year window by the Conditional Evacuation Board in his next review and plans to prepare them to be safely released
- Decisions to remember the IPP prisoners who were taken as a last resort by an independent examination by a regional judge or senior passenger board member
- With the recognition of the damages caused by the sentence, post -health care support for each released IPP prisoner
The government said that the ministers will “carefully evaluate the suggestions”.
In a 25 -page report, Lord Thomas warns because of the presented at an event in Parliament: “It is delayed for those who continue to be blocked for the release of this sentence from its clutch.
“Considering the rejection of the anger of the government, there are only two options: (1) Do not do anything new and allow many of those subject to IPPs to continue with the real risk that will stand in prison until they die, or (2) Adopt our proposals.
“Our offers offer a way to end this serious injustice while protecting the people.”
The House of Lords, who served as Lord Chief Justice between 2013-2017, believes that “practical solutions” may be the last chance to help those who were sentenced to prison sentences condemned by the UN as “psychological torture”.
Although he acknowledges that the sentences are a “terrible stain ,, Labor’s Prisons Minister James Timpson said the government would not flush to IPP prisoners, because he will automatically release serious criminals without licensed supervision. Instead, government prisoners urged prisoners to work to be released by the Conditional Evacuation Board through the renewed IPP action plan.
However, Lord Thomas believes that the measure is “not enough ve and some desperate prisoners will leave the rest of their lives in jail.
Without action, he said that it was “absolutely open” to resign themselves to life -long institutionalization or to take their own lives.
He called on the state to take responsibility for his own mistakes and said that if these prisoners commissioned their crimes the day after the sentence was abolished, he would be released for a long time.
Supporting the judge last year, the judge, “the time we put forward this problem, this produces justice and minimizes the risk as much as possible,” he added. Independent Campaign for reviewing IPP sentences.
Andrea Coomber KC, General Manager of the Howard League, described the imprisonment as a “ruthless experiment ına accidental to these prisoners.
Even the architect of the flawed 99 -year sentence, David Blunkett, former Labor’s former Interior Minister David Blunkett, described it as the “greatest regret ın of his career.
Coomber said, orum I spend a lot of time to visit people in prisons, I met people who did not deal with IPP forums and left hope, ”he said. Independent.
“They settled in the idea that they would die in prison. This is a terrible stain in our justice system that people feel that justice is so disappointed.”
The authority provided a release date receivables and added the steps of their rehabilitation again.
“Basically, it will be a way to recover hopes for people who have lost their hope while protecting the people,” he said.
In addition, the government is struggling with an extreme crowded crisis, he added that releasing a large number of prisons would have a “happy side effect”.
In April, Independent The imprisoned IPP prisoners showed that the estimated IPP prisoners had cost 145 million pounds to taxpayers in 2024, over 1.6 billion pounds, over 1.6 billion pounds. In the report, any cost of the implementation of changes will be “handled” because of the savings of release.
The panel, a retired Supreme Court Judge and Conditional Evacuation Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, will see the uncertain sentences given when they are children (known as DPP prisons) considering a release date in one year within one year, when they are considered to be a child within one year.
In addition, an advanced process for people to object to IPP penalties called for the ability to “spend” after an appropriate period of annual license termination examination and IPP prison terms in the community.
Currently, when those who serve the IPP sentence try to rebuild and find a job, they should explain information about their prisoners of life that can be “largely stamped”.
His son Shaun Lloyd welcomed the proposed measures after 14 years of recycling to play a mobile phone in 2005.
“I think this is a great idea. I call Shabana Mahmood [justice secretary] And James Timpson will undertake offers. ”
The United IPP reform group spokesman (UNGRipp) said that he would always force him for a complete revitalization process and support measures.
“We hope that the government will seriously handle these alternatives and give some hope for those who have never been released or never released, or he added.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “It is true to remove IPP sentences and we will carefully discuss the suggestions in this report.
“We are determined to make progress towards safe and sustainable publications for prisons, but it is not in any way that undermines public protection.”
