‘Prisoners in England and Wales have been left confused by high-profile government announcements that led them to believe thousands of inmates would be temporarily released to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus behind bars, a prison deaths watchdog has said.’
The Guardian, 31st May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Five suicides have been recorded in prisons in England and Wales in just six days, the Guardian understands, fuelling fears that a highly restrictive regime in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus is having a devastating impact on inmates.’
The Guardian, 28th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘While the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor have announced that jury trials will commence this month, we are far from the pandemic’s conclusion. This fear is felt all the more by defendants facing sentencing hearings. Regardless of whether an offence was committed prior to the crisis, or in the currency, it does not change the new threat that an immediate custodial sentence brings – one of health.’
St Philips Barristers, 13th May 2020
Source: st-philips.com
‘Proposals to release some offenders from prison earlier than planned have been shelved by the government.’
BBC News, 10th May 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Children at a young offenders institution have been let out of their cells for only 40 minutes a day due to coronavirus, a report has revealed.’
BBC News, 7th May 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A prisoner convicted of stirring up religious hatred has won the first round in his legal challenge to emergency legislation preventing early automatic release of terrorism offenders.’
The Guardian, 5th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Prison officers are allegedly punching compliant inmates who they suspect might misbehave in the future in a practice known as “preventive strikes”, a European human rights watchdog has said in a damning report on the state of jails in England.’
The Guardian, 30th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘COVID-19 is a dangerous reality for prisoners. As of 18 April 2020, confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in over half of prisons in England and Wales. There have been 13 suspected COVID-19 deaths among prisoners[1]. Amongst this wider concern, those who are pregnant and children in custody may be particularly anxious during this unprecedented time.’
One Pump Court, 21st April 2020
Source: onepumpcourt.co.uk
‘As of 1st of April 2020, the Government’s election pledge of delaying the release point of serious sexual and violent offenders came into force by way of the Release of Prisoners (Alteration of Relevant Proportion of Sentence) Order 2019.’
St Ives Chambers, 10th April 2020
Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk
‘Following the sad news of the first death in custody from COVID-19, a question arises: what are likely to be the issues at inquests into the deaths in custody from COVID-19?’
UK Human Rights Blog, 6th April 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘As many as 4,000 prisoners in England and Wales are to be temporarily released from jail in an effort to try and control the spread of coronavirus, the government has announced.’
The Guardian, 4th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Covid 19 pandemic has led to lock-downs of populations the world over. The global has become the local. For our safety we are subject to unprecedented restrictions on our movement. So, it is cruelly ironic that Government inaction has created the situation where Covid-19 has taken a hold on those in our prisons.’
Nexus Chambers, 3rd April 2020
Source: www.nexuschambers.com
‘The inquest into the self-inflicted death of Dean George in HMP Swansea concluded yesterday, with the jury identifying multiple critical failures that contributed to his death on 10 April 2016.’
Garden Court Chambers, 17th March 2020
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘A man who claimed to be a Grenfell Tower resident who was in hospital recovering from surgery when he was actually in prison at the time, has been convicted of fraud and jailed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd March 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The government is considering releasing some offenders from prisons in England and Wales to ease pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic.’
BBC News, 25th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Benjamin Ireson, known as Ben, was a much-loved son, brother, uncle and friend to many. He was found hanged in his cell at HMP Nottingham on 13 December 2018. He was 31 years old.’
Garden Court Chambers, 9th March 2020
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘Failure to protect the most vulnerable inmates in the UK prison system from coronavirus could result in more than 800 avoidable deaths, experts have warned.’
The Guardian, 21st March 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
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