The impact of the IPP sentence (imprisonment for public protection) is particularly harsh for Irish prisoners. Irish IPP prisoners do not have the chance to benefit from the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) because Irish prisoners are not generally subject to depor...
Still waiting for guidance from MoJ and Parole Board
The fourth Lord Chancellor in four years, David Lidington, has withdrawn an appeal to the Supreme Court against the Court of Appeal’s ruling that several cuts to legal aid for prisoners were unlawful. It has taken ov...
This paper is not a formal submission of evidence to the Justice Select Committee. The Committee has not called for evidence for the Work of the Parole Board session.
Less than a year ago, a popular newspaper described the country’s most senior judges as enemies of the people. The Lord Chancellor, Liz Truss, failed miserably to defend those judges, ignoring her constitutional role in deference to her political allegiances.
The release of IPP prisoner James Ward was widely reported today. In another part of the country, one of my IPP clients was also released today. He has also served over eleven years, nine years longer than the minimum term which was imposed by the Judge who sentenced h...
When I studied law at university 30 years ago I found reading court judgments an odd experience. They were almost always written by men. It struck me that women seemed to be barred from being judges and I didn't understand why.
Prison reform has been one of the casualties of Brexit and the decision by Theresa May to call another general election. The Prisons and Courts Bill was quietly shelved after the election was announced and there is no guarantee that it will be resurrected.
Kevin is serving a life sentence at a prison in the South of England. He is on the autistic spectrum and has significant learning disabilities. He has a parole hearing coming up next month. The hearing will be over two years late.
