Sentences of indefinite detainees should be reviewed compared to their peers – The Irish News

A precedent warned the Lords against getting on the “wrong side of history” and urged them to support the resentment of prisoners held on indefinite sentences.

The Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) Bill will enable the Government to imprison prisoners held for imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences.

IPP sentences were given to offenders convicted of serious violent or sexual offenses where a judge believed they posed a significant threat to the public but did not deserve a life sentence.

It was abolished for new offenders in 2012 but this did not apply retroactively.

Labour’s Lord Tony Woodley told the House of Lords that it was a miscarriage of justice and that they should not have expected the “ITV documentary series” to portray them as “reckless, cold-hearted time wasters who leave damaged people to rot in prison”. .

The bill has no government support, with prisons minister Lord James Timpson saying getting angry at peers would put the public at “unacceptable risk of harm”.

Conservative Party spokesman Lord David Wolfson of Tredegar also said his party would not support enacting the bill in its current form.

However, the bill was read a second time in the House of Lords on Friday.

The support of the Government and MPs is required for it to become law in the third reading.

The House of Lords heard 2,964 people were serving IPP sentences.

These inmates can only be released after serving initial terms in prison and convincing the Parole Board that they no longer pose a threat to the public.

However, there is criticism about how long the process will take and its impact on the mental health of prisoners.

The Lords heard that 1,095 prisoners were sentenced to IPP and were never released from prison.

Two-thirds have served more than ten years in prison after their initial sentence.

Approximately 1,600 people were recalled to prison after initially serving in an IPP.

Approximately 269 people have been released from prison but are still serving IPP sentences.

Lord Woodley said: “Many prisoners are still living this nightmare and it is these people that I am focusing my Bill on, which aims to turn these never-ending IPP torture sentences into regular, normal, fixed sentences with an end date. hope.”

Crossbencher Lord Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick told colleagues about Mike, an ex-convict who had received an IPP sentence, whom he had met last year.

17 years after his release, Mike was sent back to prison and served another 10 months after forgetting to tell his parole officer that he was going on vacation with his wife.

“What a waste of public money, what a waste of a marriage opportunity.

Lord Hastings said: “What a dangerous tyranny of an individual’s hard-won freedom for a simple act committed decades ago.”

Conservative Lord Edward Garnier, who held ministerial duties as an MP at the Ministry of Justice, said: “The English language is a rich language, but even adjectives are inadequate to describe the disgusting situation described by people who have been recalled, sentenced to indefinite imprisonment for minor breaches of their licence.”

Urging the government to support the bill, he added: “To say this is too difficult and that we can only improve things at a risk-averse glacial pace is unacceptable, inhumane and uncivilised.”

But Lord Wolfson said the current bill would not have Conservative support as it would mean the automatic release of dangerous prisoners.

He said: “Those who are still in prison and not released on license were convicted 12 years ago.

“During this time, they will have prepared for and attended various Parole Board hearings, and the parole board, which is independent and expert, will have concluded, on all the material before them, that it is not safe to release them.”

Lord Timpson said: “Legislating that every IPP prisoner is given a firm release date and post-release license, or legislating for re-sentencing by the court, will result in their automatic release.

“This will be the case even where the Parole Board has previously, and in many cases repeatedly, found that these individuals remain too dangerous to be released and fail to meet the statutory test for release.

“Either legal approach would put the public at unacceptable risk of harm and the Government is not prepared to meet this.”

He added: “With ongoing support, all IPP prisoners can and will be released when it is safe and appropriate for them to do so.”