UN experts have renewed their calls for the re-sentencing of around 2,400 IPP* prisoners in England and Wales, warning that continued inaction is perpetuating serious human rights violations.
“Thousands of people remain trapped in prisons under a scheme that Parliament itself abolished more than a decade ago. These penalties involve prolonged uncertainty and cause serious psychological deterioration among prisoners, including an increased risk of self-harm and suicide. Such punishments may amount to psychological torture.”
The damaging consequences of the IPP sentence are reflected in the following case-studies:
Joseph Brady has spent 18 years in prison on a tariff of four years. He has been released and recalled four times, and has reportedly experienced severe mental health deterioration, including incidents of self-harm linked to the uncertainty of indefinite detention.
Kerry Parish-McCann has served 17 years on a tariff of three years for robbery. She was 25 years of age at the time, has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and epilepsy and has repeatedly cycled between release and recall.
Thomas White has spent more than twelve years detained on a tariff of two years. Diagnosed with schizophrenia after more than a decade in custody, concerns have been raised that his mental health condition was not properly understood at sentencing and that his illness may prevent him from ever satisfying the requirements expected for release.
“These are not isolated cases. They illustrate wider systemic failings that have left many individuals trapped in a cycle of excessive punishment, repeated recall, deteriorating mental health, and diminishing hope.”
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*IPP sentences were indeterminate sentences intended for offenders who were considered potentially dangerous to the public. The sentence was abolished in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving many prisoners without the hope of ever being released.