IPP prisoners trapped under dystopian' UK jail system, major report to UN warns

"IPP prisoners are trapped in a never-ending carousel of excessive punishment which amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The 44-page submission to the UN's special rapporteur on torture calls for the immediate abolition of the Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence for those still languishing on the indefinite jail terms, with compensation, or an urgent review of their cases."

"On average, they have each served 516 per cent of their original minimum term. Risk to the public has long been cited as a reason for keeping IPP prisoners incarcerated but this lacks any sound foundation, especially when harm is being caused by the very system that sentenced those people in the first place."

"The open-ended punishments, which have been linked to almost 100 suicides in prison, were scrapped in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands trapped without a release date. Once freed, many find themselves in a vicious cycle of recall, in which they can be hauled back to prison indefinitely for minor breaches of strict licence conditions."

Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences represent a system of indefinite incarceration that disproportionately punishes prisoners beyond their original minimum terms. A UN submission by Dr Felicity Gerry KC documents eight cases where prisoners have served an average of 516% of their minimum sentences. The report argues that public safety justifications lack sound foundation, particularly when the system itself causes harm through mental health deterioration and suicide. IPP sentences, scrapped in 2012 but not retrospectively applied, affect approximately 2,400 prisoners. Released prisoners face recall mechanisms allowing indefinite re-imprisonment for minor licence breaches. The system has been linked to nearly 100 prison suicides. The report calls for immediate abolition with compensation or urgent case reviews.

Read at www.independent.co.uk