Episodes
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Theresa and Josh’s story.
Today we hear from Theresa, whose son Josh has been serving an IPP sentence since he was 18. Josh was sentenced to an IPP in 2008 for GBH, he’s now 34. When Sam meets Theresa in May 2024, Josh is still recovering from his recent set-back with the parole board. Theresa has shared an open letter from Josh in prison, written to alert the outside world of his crisis.
We also catch up with Roddy Russell who was featured in Episode 4: A Catch 22 and who has now had the first visit in 4 ½ years with his brother Robert, who is serving an IPP at HMP Swaleside, Roddy doesn’t recognise his brother at first. Roddy also meets the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, the Bishop of Gloucester, whose diocese covers the Forest of Dean, where Roddy and Robert grew up. Roddy is keen to raise Robert’s plight with Bishop Rachel as she sits in the House of Lords as the Bishop for Prisons. Bishop Rachel wants to see the end of the historic IPP sentences and she has since met Robert in prison to pray with him.
Despite the welcome amendment to the Victim’s and Prisoners Act 2024, which has shortened the license period for IPP prisoners in the community from 10 to 3 years, for the IPP prisoners like Josh who are trapped inside on this indeterminate sentence, it doesn’t help them at all. Against the background of the prison crisis making headlines, a group of leading campaigners send an open letter to the new Labour Government to act quickly on IPPs. Roddy Russell is amongst those who travel to London to hand-deliver the letter to the Ministry of Justice. We hear from Roddy and his fellow campaigners outside of the MOJ as they reflect on the appointment of James Timpson as Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation. Will he and the Labour Government finally put an end to the IPP scandal? Josh has a message for Timpson and the other politicians: ‘imagine I was your son, please help me. I'm begging you.’
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram | @Trapped_Pod
Trapped Substack: https://trappedpodcast.substack.com/
For more info about the IPP campaign visit UNGRIPP | www.ungripp.com | @UNGRIPP | IPP Committee In Action @ActionIpp
Contributors in order of appearance:
Theresa, mother of IPP serving prisoner Josh Mcrae
Roddy Russell, brother of IPP serving prisoner Robert Russell
The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester and Anglican Bishop for HM Prisons
Marc Conway, IPP prisoner on license
Andrew Morris, IPP prisoner on license
Richard Garside, The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
Voices in Archive:
James Timpson, Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu | @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | @Melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge | @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
An Ear Worm Production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Today’s episode is an exclusive interview with Martin Jones CBE, who was appointed His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation in March 2024. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive of the Parole Board from 2015.
Sam meets Martin Jones at the MOJ building, 102 Petty France, Westminster in July 2024 to discuss the IPP scandal in the shadow of the looming prisons crisis. It had been a big week for criminal justice: the new Justice Minister, Shabana Mahmood had just announced she was dealing with the crisis by allowing the early release of prisoners on standard determinate sentences after serving 40% of their sentences in custody. However, Martin tells Sam that 97% of probation areas are falling short of expectations, an extraordinary figure which starkly highlights a system that is not only in crisis, but has spectacularly failed. Martin’s message to the new government is that they need to invest in an already struggling probation service. The system is broken everywhere and there are no quick fixes. And he says he hopes the new government will “look again” at IPP sentences, which are “hugely costly, hugely burdensome for the system”.
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram | @Trapped_Pod
Trapped Substack: https://trappedpodcast.substack.com/
For more info about the IPP campaign visit UNGRIPP | www.ungripp.com | @UNGRIPP | And the IPP Committee In Action @ActionIpp
Contributors in order of appearance:
Martin Jones CBE, HM Chief Inspector of Probation | @jones_martinw
Voices in Archive:
Shabana Mahmood, Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor | @ShabanaMahmood
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu | @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge | @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
An Ear Worm Production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episodes manquant?
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Rob and Sara’s story. Sam investigates the impact of recall on IPP prisoners in the community. Change is finally coming - how will it affect them?
Rob was given an IPP sentence in 2008 and he’s been recalled back to prison 4 times since then. His partner Sara is a campaigner with UNGRIPP, The United Group for Reform of IPP: they met through the work she was doing. Sam meets them in Manchester in May 2024, just as the Victim’s and Prisoner’s Bill is making its way towards a conclusion in Parliament. This bill is bringing in significant reforms to the way that IPP prisoner’s licenses work.
The IPP license period will be changed from 10 to 3 years for termination with a sunset clause which means that if the license is not terminated at the direction of the Parole Board after 3 years, it will be automatically terminated after a further two years. This will have a direct impact on Rob and other IPP prisoners on license in the community, like him. But behind the headlines are real stories about real people, so Sam is keen to find out how prisoners on license like Rob are coping. She also speaks to the prison lawyers Emma McClure and Andrew Sperling and Dr Alice Edwards the UK Special Rapporteur to get their takes on the recall ‘merry-go-round'.
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about UNGRIPP visit: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
Trapped Substack: https://trappedpodcast.substack.com/
Contributors in order of appearance:
Rob Dutton, IPP prisoner on license
Sara Ramsden, Rob’s partner and campaigner
Emma McClure, Prison Law Solicitor
Andrew Sperling, Solicitor Advocate @AndrewSperling
Dr. Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture @DrAliceJEdwards
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Mary and Martin Myer’s story. We also hear from two people who head up their unions, working with IPP prisoners on the front line: the prison officers and prisoner governors.
Martin Myers comes from an Irish Traveller family. They’re a minority group in the UK, often discriminated against. On the 8th March 2006, Martin was given an IPP sentence with a tariff of 19 months and 27 days. Apart from one stint of freedom for 10 weeks towards the end of 2023, he’s been locked away in prison. Today Sam meets Mary, Martin’s mother, to hear their story.
In 2006 Martin received his IPP sentence after he approached a young man in Luton, where he lived, and asked him for a cigarette. The man made a derogatory comment about travellers. Martin threatened to punch the young man if he didn’t give him the cigarette, the man ran away and reported Martin Myers to the police, saying he was carrying a small ‘spud’ knife.
Sam also meets Mark Fairhurst, National chair of the Prison Officers Association and Tom Wheatley, the newly appointed President of the Prison Governors Association. They discuss the underfunded and under-resourced prison system, prison conditions, mental health provisions for IPP prisoners and the aftermath of self-inflicted deaths. They both have strong words for the government with the general election on the horizon. Finally she hears how the campaign continues to fight for resentencing IPP prisoners, as Richard Garside from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies explains.
Please be advised that this episode contains references to self-harm and suicide.
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about UNGRIPP visit: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
Thanks to The Howard League for Penal Reform @TheHowardLeague
Contributors in order of appearance:
Mary Myers, Mother of serving IPP prisoner Martin Myers
Ann McMaster, friend and support worker to Mary Myers
Mark Fairhurst, National chair of the Prison Officers Association
Tom Wheatley, President of the Prison Governors Association | @PGA_Prisons
Richard Garside, Director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies | @richardjgarside
Voices in Archive:
Sir Bob Neil, former chair of the Justice Select Committee | @neill_bob
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Wayne Bell’s story, plus Sam speaks to Dr Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture about her intervention in the campaign for IPP justice.
Today Sam travels to Manchester to speak to Alana Bell, whose brother Wayne Bell was sentenced to an IPP sentence with a 2 year tariff in 2007 for assaulting someone and stealing their bike. He was 17. Wayne is now 34: he’s spent his entire adult life in prison.
Like many other IPP prisoners, Wayne didn't know what an IPP sentence was until he was knocked back at parole. He then made efforts at completing offender behaviour programmes when available, enrolled in a mechanics course, went to the gym. After a parole hearing in 2015, by which point he had been in prison 6 years past his original tariff, he was again knocked back. His health and behaviour deteriorated. On 12 April 2018, Wayne was found in a catatonic state in his cell: conscious but unresponsive. He was transferred to a secure mental health hospital where, once a week, he was given electroconvulsive therapy, a treatment for schizophrenia that felt like another form of punishment. We hear about of the awful toll his IPP sentence has taken on Wayne and his family, who currently don't know which prison he is in.
Sam also speaks to Dr. Alice Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. In 2023, a group of IPP campaigners, prisoners, and their families, submitted evidence via the UN's website of sustained human rights breaches as part of the IPP sentence: they got Dr Edward’s attention, and she started looking into the IPP scandal in the UK. In August 2023 Dr Edwards wrote a letter to the British Government calling on "Your Excellency’s Government to conduct a re-sentencing exercise for all remaining IPP-sentenced individuals - and provide them with access to adequate reparation, as appropriate - without delay. We also call on the Government, in the meantime, to step up efforts to secure rehabilitation opportunities for all those affected.” She has also called the IPP sentence “psychological torture”. What has happened since her intervention? Campaigners have warned that reforms are a matter of life and death for IPP prisoners after almost 90 suicides. Are the British government listening?
You can read Dr Edward's letter to the British Government here: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=28329
Get in touch with the Trapped team on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about the IPP campaign for justice, visit UNGRIPP www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP / IPP Committee in Action @ActionIpp
Contributors in order of appearance:
Alana Bell, Sister of IPP prisoner, Wayne Bell
Dr. Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture @DrAliceJEdwards
Production credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The inside story of the measures being taken by members of the House of Lords for IPP prisoners in the current parliamentary Victims and Prisoners Bill.
We join Sam on 11th March 2024, three months after the inquest of Matthew Price, an IPP prisoner on license who took his own life, and one day before the Victims and Prisoners bill committee stage in the House of Lords. The two are linked because this bill is being heralded as perhaps the last opportunity for some time to use legislation to finally close the chapter on imprisonment for public protection sentences (IPPs) which the United Nations have called ‘cruel, inhuman and degrading’.
The bill came to the Lords with an amendment which will change the license conditions for IPPs from 10 to 3 years, which might well have saved Matthew Price, who killed himself at the 10-year point of his license. So it's a start, but many think this is not enough, and at this stage there’s an incredible 17 amendments which relate to IPPs, pinned to the Victims and Prisoners Bill. Sam takes us behind the scenes to look closer at the Lord’s amendments, asking how much difference can they make? Can they really change the story on IPPs?
Sam meets Lord Moylan who has been coordinating a group of Lords to table the amendments to the Bill. We hear more about his proposed change to the release test for IPP prisoners. She also sits down with Baroness Claire Fox, who is tabling the amendment on resentencing. This was originally proposed by Sir Bob Neil, Chair of the Justice Select Committee, and was rejected by the government back in 2023. Conservative Peer, Earl Attlee is the Grandson of the famous post-war Labour PM. He has long held an interest in criminal justice. He isn't confident that any of the amendments will get much support once they go back to the Commons and describes the political calculations being made by both the Labour and Conservative front benches.
Sam also catches up with Matthew Price’s lawyers Emma McClure and Andrew Sperling following Matthew’s inquest. The coroner released a Prevention of Future Deaths report on how the IPP sentence contributed to Matthew’s death, urging the Secretary of State for Justice to act and stop any further deaths occurring. This is one of an unprecedented three Prevention of Future Death notices relating to IPP prisoners, which have been sent to the Government this year.
At the Lord's debate on 12th March, the Labour Spokesperson for Justice, Lord Ponsonby and the Conservative Spokesperson for Justice, Lord Bellamy present a united front in opposing Baroness Fox's amendment: is it the end of the road for resentencing IPP prisoners?
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook, IG @Trapped_Pod
Follow the campaigners: www.ungripp.com @UNGRIPP & @ActionIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Lord Daniel Moylan
Baroness Fox of Berkeley
John Richard Attlee, The 3rd Earl Attlee
Emma McClure, Consultant Solicitor
Andrew Sperling, Solicitor Advocate
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The IPP sentence has created a sense of hopelessness amongst prisoners, leading to poor mental health, self-harm and numerous suicides, so we are ending this series by asking ‘what does hope look like’ for IPP serving prisoners?
Sam asks this question to some of the many people who are campaigning to bring an end to this grievous injustice: including Andrea Coomber, from the Howard League for Penal Reform; Richard Garside from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies; Simon Hattenstone from the Guardian and Elisabeth Davies from the Independent Monitoring Boards. We also hear from Frank, an IPP serving prisoner, who has been inside for 15 years and counting, on a two-and-a-half-year tariff.
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about UNGRIPP visit: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
ww.ippcommitteeinaction.com / X @ActionIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Frank, IPP serving prisoner
Lord David Blunkett
Andrea Coomber, Chief Executive, The Howard League for Penal Reform
Hank Rossi, campaigner and activist
Simon Hattenstone, Journalist, The Guardian
Richard Garside, Director of Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
Elizabeth Davies, National Chair of the Independent Monitoring Boards
Lorna Hackett, Barrister at Hackett and Dabbs LLP and a tenant at Millennium Chambers
Alexander Horne, Barrister and visiting Professor at Durham University
Voices in Archive:
Edward Argar MP, Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation
Sir Bob Neil MP, Chair of the Justice Select Committee
Kevin Brennan MP, Shadow Minister for Victims and Sentencing
John Mcdonnell MP
Dr Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nicole, Madison and Matthew Price's stories.
Nicole and Madison both served Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. Now out on licence, Sam meets these two women in Parliament, whilst trying to lobby their MPs. She hears about life inside female prisons and how they are both doing now. As of December 2022, there were 40 women in custody serving IPP sentences.
Sam also talks to Emma McClure and Andrew Sperling, criminal lawyers who represented Matthew Price, who was on licence when he took his own life in May 2023. They describe the terror that Matthew faced knowing he could be recalled back to prison at any time. It's situation that is not unique for IPP serving prisoners on licence: to date, 19 people serving IPP sentences in the community have taken their own lives since 2020.
Read Matthew Price’s 'cry for help' email here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wgAUyjdjdr9j8gO5NWphtrno6eoI65OX/view?usp=sharing
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info on the campaign for justice for IPPs: visit UNGRIPP: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
and IPP Committee in Action www.ippcommitteeinaction.com / @ActionIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Madison, IPP prisoner on licence
Nicole, IPP prisoner on licence
Emma McClure, Consultant Solicitor with SL5 Legal @[email protected]
Andrew Sperling, Solicitor-Advocate and Managing Director of SL5 Legal www.SL5Legal.co.uk / @AndrewSperling
Production credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What's life like for IPP prisoners on licence? Mark Conway and Andrew Morris both describe it as ‘walking on eggshells’.
Mark Conway intervened in the terror attack at London Bridge in 2019, tackling Usman Khan who was subsequently shot dead by armed police. Mark's first call was to his parole officer because he was worried he might get recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions. Andrew Morris says he is frustrated at the lack of will to end the needless deaths of IPPs, one being his friend ‘Danny’ whose death Andrew describes as "inexcusable and unforgivable." Both Mark and Andrew say they are some of the 'lucky ones' as they have survived a sentence which has broken so many others.
Sam also speaks to criminologist Sophie Ellis about the prisoner / psychologist relationship and her complicated feelings about having been part of administering the IPP sentence.
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about UNGRIPP visit: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Mark Conway, IPP prisoner on licence
Andrew Morris, IPP prisoner on licence
Sophie Ellis, Criminologist and Ph.D. researcher at Cambridge University @Psych_SEllis
Lord Daniel Moylan @danielmgmoylan
Voices in Archive:
Alex Chalk KC MP
Sir Bob Neill MP
ABC News - Citizens take down terrorist on London Bridge
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How IH fought and won the legal appeal against his DPP sentence.
IH is one of the few people who has successfully appealed against his DPP sentence. DPP stands for ‘Detention for Public Protection’, it works just like IPPs, but it was given to people who were under the age of 18 at the time of their conviction. IH served a DPP sentence for 16 years before he won his appeal. He was represented by Farrhat Arshad at Doughty Street Chambers. Today Sam meets IH and Farrhat to talk about fighting and winning his appeal, and the growing impediments that prison lawyers are facing in doing this kind of work.
Meanwhile, following an initiative run by IPP campaigners to gain support for their cause from the UN, in September 2023 Dr Alice Edwards, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, released a statement saying she had written to the UK government condemning the IPP sentence, saying "for many, these sentences have become cruel, inhuman and degrading." With rising awareness about this miscarriage of justice, pressure continues to grow on the government to take further action on IPPs.
Get in touch with the Trapped team on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about the campaign for IPP justice, visit: www.ungripp.com | @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
'IH', former DPP Prisoner
Lord Daniel Moylan, Conservative Peer @danielmoylan.com
Farrhat Arshad, Barrister, Doughty Street Chambers | @DoughtyStCrime | https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/barristers/farrhat-arshad
Production Team:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
Artwork: The Brightside
A Zinc Media production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Bernadette and Abdulahi's story, plus Sam explores mental health treatment for IPPs and the now controversial Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway.
Sam travels to Cardiff to meet Bernadette, whose husband Abdulahi received an IPP sentence in 2005. His original tariff was two years and he has been recalled back to prison four times. Abdulahi was born in Somalia and moved to the UK as a child. He is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and his mental health has deteriorated since being in prison and because of the anxiety-inducing uncertainty of his IPP sentence.
Sam also gets a call from an IPP serving prisoner we are calling Mitch. He was released in 2018 after 11 years and was recalled back to prison the same year for breaching licence conditions. We also hear from James Daly MP, prison and parole solicitor, Dean Kingham and Senior Lecturer in law at the University of York, Ailbe O’Louhglin, who explains the history of the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway, which is now considered controversial amongst many psychologists and psychiatrists.
Get in touch with the team on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about the campaign to end IPP sentences visit UNGRIPP: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Bernadette Emmerson, wife of Abdulahi, an IPP serving prisoner
'Mitch', IPP serving prisoner
James Daly MP
Dean Kingham, Prison and Parole Solicitor
Graham Towl, Professor of forensic psychology at Durham University
Ailbe O’Louhglin, Senior Lecturer in law at the University of York
Dr Jo Shingler, Forensic Psychologist
Shirley Debono, IPP Committee in Action
Voices in Archive:
Alex Chalk KC MP
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
Artwork: The Brightside
A Zinc Media production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Donna and Tommy’s story and why so many IPP serving prisoners have taken their own lives.
Tommy Nicol was serving an IPP sentence for robbery and when his tariff expired and he still wasn’t released from prison, he took his own life. Tommy is just one of many: the total number of IPP serving prisoners who had taken their own lives by the end of 2022 was 81. Today Sam investigates the human stories behind these stark statistics.
Sam visits the ‘SoulsINQUEST’ exhibition in Brixton’s 198 Gallery to speak to INQUEST’s Director, Deborah Coles and look at their exhibition highlighting state violence, death, grief and resistance. It includes a tribute to Tommy, written by his sister Donna Mooney, and a photograph of a bike which signifies ‘the wheel of pain’. After Tommy's death, Donna became involved in setting up the campaigning organisation UNGRIPP, the ‘United Group for the Reform of IPPs'.
Sam also meets Sir Bob Neil to talk about the evidence gathered by the Justice Select Committee’s IPP report on self-harm and suicide. And we hear Labour’s John McDonnell raise the issue in parliament: they both highlight how IPP sentences create a sense of hopelessness, pushing many serving them over the edge. Lord David Blunkett, the architect of the IPP sentence, is posed a hard-hitting question by a former IPP prisoner.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of the men and women who have taken their own lives whilst serving IPP sentences.
Get in touch on Twitter, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about UNGRIPP visit: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
For more information about INQUEST visit: www.inquest.org.uk / @INQUEST_ORG
Contributors in order of appearance:
Donna Mooney, IPP campaigner and sister of Tommy Nicol
Deborah Coles, Director of Inquest @DebatINQUEST
Sir Bob Neil MP @neill_bob
Graham Towl @ProfGrahamTowl
Lord David Blunkett @LordBlunkett
Voices in archive:
John McDonnell MP
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Roddy and Robert Russell’s story, plus Sam explores why IPP serving prisoners are finding it so hard to get released by the parole board.
Roddy Russell first found out what an IPP sentence was in 2011 when his brother, Robert didn't come home after serving 2-and-a-half-year tariff for a threat to kill. The brothers grew up in the Forest of Dean – and Roddy left as soon as he was old enough for a career in the RAF, whilst Robert went down a different path and has been in prison for the last 14 years, serving an indefinite imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence. Today Roddy travels back to the Forest of Dean to meet Robert's friends and former co-workers as he takes on his latest battle to help get his brother released.
To understand why IPPs are finding it so hard to get released by the parole board, Sam meets the lawyer Andrew Sperling and former prison officer Sam Samworth. Samworth, who explains what prison life is like for people serving IPP sentences and how vulnerable they are. Hank Rossi of the Institute of Now and Richard Garside, Director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, discuss the barriers that prisoners face when approaching a parole review. It’s a Catch-22 says Garside, the problems IPPs face get reproduced over time with no obvious way out.
Finally, Sam and Hank travel to Bristol to meet Stafford Lightman, a Professor of Medicine. He describes how the brain responds to stress and how indefinite detention exacerbates its effects for both IPP prisoners and their family members.
Get in touch on Twitter, Tik Tok or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
Listen to our BBC Radio 4 doc, featuring Roddy and Robert on the IPP sentence: 'Tapped in the System' here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001l267
Contributors in order of appearance:
Roddy Russell, IPP campaigner and brother of IPP serving prisoner, Robert @1roddyRussell
Andrew Sperling, Lawyer and parole specialist, director of SL5 Legal. @AndrewSperling
Graham Towl, Professor of forensic psychology at Durham University, former Chief Psychologist at the Ministry of Justice @ProfGrahamTowl
Bryn Williams, former employer of Robert Russell
Hank Rossi, The Institute of Now
Andrew Mapps, friend of Robert Russell
Nick Ballard, friend of Robert Russell
Dan Nelmes, friend of Robert Russell
Sam Samworth, former prison officer and Author @NeilSamworth
Clara White, sister of IPP serving prisoner Thomas White
Richard Garside, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies @RichardJGarside
Stafford Lightman, Professor of Medicine, University of Bristol
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
Artwork: Brightside
A Zinc Media Production for The Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Shirley and Shaun’s story, plus Sam digs into the history of the IPP sentence, what has made it such a failure?
Shirley Debono has been campaigning against IPPs (Imprisonment for Public Protection) for many years. Her son Shaun Lloyd received an IPP sentence in 2005 for a street robbery of a mobile phone. He is one of the first people to receive an indeterminate IPP sentence and he’s been trapped in a cycle of recalls to prison ever since. We join Shirley as she travels to the HQ of the parole board in London to try and confront the CEO, Martin Jones, about delays to her son’s parole review.
To understand where IPPs came from, Sam digs into the history of the sentence, which came into existence in 2005. She meets its architect, Lord David Blunkett. He regrets introducing the IPP sentence under New Labour’s conviction to be ‘tough on crime’ and he now campaigns against it. Sam also meets the Conservative Peer, Lord Ken Clark who abolished the sentence in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands still trapped in prison. Lord Blunkett blames judges for misapplying this legislation, so Sam seeks out a response from two former judges, Nick Cooke and Lord Simon Brown, a former Supreme Court judge, who has become an icon in the fight for IPP justice.
Get in touch on Twitter, TikTok or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about the Campaign for Justice for IPPs prisoners: UNGRIPP www.ungripp.com/ Twitter @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Shirley Debono, mother of Shaun Lloyd and IPP campaigner
Lord David Blunkett, Labour Peer
Harry Annison, Criminologist, Southampton Law School
Lord Ken Clark, Conservative Peer.
Nick Cooke, retired Judge
(The Late) Lord Simon Brown, Former Law Lord and Justice of the Supreme Court 2009 - 2012
Milo Boyd, Journalist
Richard Garside, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies @CrimeandJustice
Voices in Archive:
Sir Tony Blair
Production Team:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
Artwork: Brightside
A Zinc Media Production for The Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sam reports on Aaron and Cherrie’s story and the ‘Kafkaesque maze’ of the offending behaviour programmes.
Aaron Graham is the longest straight serving IPP prisoner. He's has been in prison for nineteen years without parole on a two-and-a-half-year tariff, and he still doesn’t know when he’s getting out. Aaron’s sister Cherrie Nichol has been campaigning for Aaron and others like him serving the IPP sentence.
Sam also digs into the offending behaviour programs, an integral part of the justice system and proving your reduced risk to the parole board as an IPP serving prisoner. She finds that these courses are hard to access in many prisons. Sometimes IPP prisoners do the courses multiple times, and the parole board still doesn't grant release, leaving these prisoners in what’s been described as ‘a Kafkaesque maze’.
Meanwhile in Westminster, it’s now June 2023 and the new Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Chalk remains non-committal on resentencing the 2,916 prisoners still serving the IPP sentence, but he has also left the door open for further action. Whilst the politicking continues in Parliament, the prisoners and their families remain in limbo.
Get in touch on Twitter, TikTok or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about the Campaign for Justice for IPPs prisoners: UNGRIPP www.ungripp.com/ Twitter @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Aaron Graham, IPP serving prisoner
Cherrie Nichol, sister of Aaron Graham and IPP campaigner.
Dr. Jo Shingler, forensic psychologist
Mark Day, Prison Reform Trust @PRTuk
Dean Kingham, prison and parole solicitor
Harry Annison, criminologist
Voices in archive:
Lord Daniel Moylan
Sir Bob Neill
John McDonnell MP
Alex Chalk KC MP
Joe Outlaw, IPP serving prisoner
Production Team:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
Artwork: Brightside
A Zinc Media Production for The Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What are IPPs sentences and why are they so destructive?
It's the 27th of April 2023. We join reporter Sam Asumadu as she takes us back to the time when she first heard about IPPs (Imprisonment for Public Protection) sentences during a meeting with Shirley Debono, who’s been campaigning for justice for IPPs since her son Shaun received an IPP sentence for a street robbery without violence. He was given a two-and-a-half-year tariff back in 2005, and he’s still serving the sentence, nearly 18 years later.
There are currently 2,916 people trapped in prison on an IPP sentence. They are 'ghost prisoners': none of them know when they are getting out or whether their IPP sentence could mean life in prison. Sam speaks to Lord Blunkett, who introduced the IPP sentence back in 2005 when he was Home Secretary, he tells her it’s a decision he now regrets.
Sam follows Shirley and other IPP campaigners as they attend a debate in Westminster Hall, called by Sir Bob Neill to address the Government's response to the Justice Select Committee's report on IPP sentences, which was delivered in February 2023. The campaigners are hopeful that the government will reverse their rejection of the Justice Committee's recommendation to resentence all prisoners serving an IPP sentence.
Sam also speaks to Clara White, whose brother Thomas has been imprisoned on an IPP sentence since 2012 after receiving a 2-year tariff for stealing a mobile phone. Thomas’s story is highlighted by James Daley MP at the Westminster Hall Debate as evidence of the harm IPP sentences do to prisoners and their families.
Get in touch on Twitter, TikTok or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about the Campaign for Justice for IPPs prisoners: UNGRIPP www.ungripp.com/ Twitter @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Shirley Debono, Campaigner and mother of Shaun Lloyd, who is serving an IPP.
Dr. Jo Shingler, Forensic Psychologist @ShinglerJo
Alana Bell, Sister of IPP serving prisoner, Wayne Bell
Hank Rossi, IPP Activist.
Lord Blunkett, Labour peer
Lord Moylan, Conservative peer
Mark Day, Prison Reform Trust @PRTuk
Sir Bob Neill MP, Chair of the Justice Select Committee
James Daly, Conservative MP
Clara White, Campaigner and sister of IPP serving prisoner, Thomas White.
Thomas White, Prisoner serving an IPP.
Dean Kingham, Solicitor, lawyer to Thomas White
Andrea Coomber, The Howard League for Penal Reform @TheHowardLeague
Bishop Mick Fleming, Church on the Street
Production Team:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for The Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Podcast series charting the UK #IPP prisoner scandal. Listen on #Acast #ApplePodcasts #Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Today there are nearly 3,000 people trapped in British prisons on the now abolished indeterminate IPP (Imprisonment for Public Protection) sentence, many for minor crimes like stealing a mobile phone. None of them know when they are getting out, or whether their IPP sentence could mean life in prison. To date, 87 IPP serving prisoners, with a lack of certainty and losing hope, have taken their own lives. The IPP has been called a ‘stain on the British justice system’ and ‘psychological torture’. But most people have never heard of it…
In this ‘tragically brilliant’ and hard hitting 10-part podcast series, the investigative reporter Sam Asumadu is digging deep into the plight of prisoners serving IPPs, and their families, to find out what has gone wrong with this sentence and shine a light into the dark corners of the IPP story.
Featuring contributions from prisoners serving IPP sentences, their families, campaigners, criminologists, psychologists, journalists, lawyers, retired judges, MPs and Peers.
Get in touch on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram @Trapped_pod
If you want to do something, you can tell a friend to listen to this series. Knowledge is power and the more who know, the harder it is for injustice to take place.
If you want to do something more active, you can write to your MP - and tell them to raise questions about prisoners serving IPPs in parliament.
Some campaigners have started a petition hosted on the UK government website. Search the hashtag #JusticeForIPPs on social media for more info and the link.
For more information about the Campaign for IPP Justice: Contact UNGRIPP www.ungripp.com/ or on Twitter @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Thomas White, IPP serving prisoner.
Jo Shingler, Forensic Psychologist @ShinglerJo
Alana Bell, Sister of Wayne Bell, IPP serving prisoner.
Mark Day, Prison Reform Trust @PRTuk
Production Team:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
Artwork: Brightside
Listen to our BBC Radio 4 doc on the IPP Sentence: 'Tapped in the System' here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001l267
A Zinc Media production for the Institute of Now
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
