IPP prisoner,"he attempted to slit his throat as he lost the will to live while held in jail."Being in prison for that long is like being in a coffin and not being able to get out.

Scotswood prisoner Danny Weatherson due for release 11 years after a 13 month jail sentence

Danny had to serve 13 months before applying for parole - but under an IPP sentance   it has taken 11 years to get out.

Banged up behind bars for more than 11 years, prisoner Danny  has finally got a release date after fighting a long battle for freedom.

Danny was just 18 when a judge recommended he served almost 16 months  for robberie before he could apply for parole - but more than a decade on, he remains behind bars.

Caught up in the controversial (IPP) sentences which came into force for England and Wales in 2005 but was axed in 2012, 

"he attempted to slit his throat as he lost the will to live while held in jail." Being in prison for that long is like being in a coffin and not being able to get out.

“He’s a different person now he knows he’s coming out. When he rang to tell us that he had been granted his parole he was proper over the moon. He couldn’t stop talking, we couldn’t get a word in edgeways.”He had taken to self-harm to get him through his days.

His solicitor, Shirley Noble, said he was being kept inside as he “poses a risk to himself” and uses the self-harming mechanism to release the pain he suffers emotionally.And his frustrated dad used his son’s attempted suicide to highlighted the IPP sentences which was intended to protect the public against criminals whose crimes were not serious enough to merit a normal life sentence but who were regarded as too dangerous to be released when the term of their original sentence had expired.

Danny,  who had been in trouble for a string on minor crimes before being jailed, was among those who feels they had been left to rot behind bars.Dad-of-two Maurice added: “It was horrible in there for him. It got to a stage when he tried to end his life by slitting his throat seven or eight times. Now he has the rest of his life to look forward to and his nightmare can end.”

But his family says in February the Parole Board said Danny could be moved to a category D open prison.

However, just weeks later, he was told the prison that had been chosen was changed and Danny slit his throat as his hopes were shattered.

Ministry of Justice data shows the number of IPP prisoners still being held since the sentences was abolished.Maurice, 44, of Lemington, Newcastle, says he has seen Danny’s mood deteriorate. “He has nothing to live for,” said Maurice, a builder, who will next visit him on July 18 when he celebrates his 28th birthday.

You can tell he is hurting inside. These IPP sentences mean he has no target date to get out and he is going year after year and getting nowhere. He is sick of his life, you can tell in his eyes he has nothing to live for.

While the justice secretary has said that dangerous offenders must be kept inside, he says he wants the majority of IPP prisoners to be “given hope and a reason to engage in rehabilitative activity”. He wants to see the prison population reduced.

I personally believe that as a result of the time he has been incarcerated along with the frustration of not having an end date to his sentence, he has lost his identity. He appeared before the Parole Board in February 2016 when the panel recommended a progressive move to open conditions

The prison now say he should not progress to open,, however he is a risk of harm to himself as opposed to the public. This is a method he uses to deal with stress and anxiety and a belief he is being let down. 

Keeping him incarcerated will only exacerbate this and in the meantime he becomes more institutionalised, treading water so to speak and trying to be normal in an abnormal environment with no light at the end of the tunnel. A prison environment is unlikely to be able to manage the self-harm issues effectively, whilst he does have constructive positive engagement with mental health but the prison is there to help him rehabilitate, which he has strived to do.

The High Court said the boy, who is referred to as AB, was unlawfully denied access to education and the ability to mix with other inmates. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40491331

COMMENTS

Owen Locking anyone up for long periods of time will cause psychological damage. With young adults it leads to high rates of self harming. With young people who have serious behaviour issues you need to ensure that their mental wellbeing is protected. If that means they have to have segregated outside exercise then that has to be cattered for. They also need physical stimulus like gym or other sports. Staff need to have resources to achieve this if you want to help people like this lad break the cycle they are in. Not doing so costs the tax payers millions more every year.

Mental heath in prison attached document done by the national audit office on Mental Health in prisons. Good document, sad reading but thought you might find it interesting. https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Mental-health-in-prisons.pdf

Human Rights’ inquiry into mental health and deaths in prisons: another missed opportunity?

https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2017/06/07/munira-ali-examining-the-dissolution-of-the-joint-committee-on-human-rights-inquiry-into-mental-health-and-deaths-in-prisons-another-missed-opportunity/?platform=hootsuite

Paul For these IPP prisoners, the uncertainty of not knowing when they will be released is unbearable and has an established adverse impact on their mental health; their continued imprisonment also has an effect on other prisoners, quite apart from the damage it does to the reputation of British justice. 

Killeen Been out 7 yrs after doin 5 off a 4 year tariff neva been nicked or out. Do i have to wat 10yrs br i can apply to get it removed

Katherine Gleeson Released IPPs: are subject to an IPP licence ; can apply to the Parole Board to have their licence cancelled after 10 years (and if unsuccessful at yearly intervals thereafter);may be recalled to prison while the licence remains in force to continue serving their sentence if it is considered necessary. 

 http://www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/types-of-offender/life

Life sentenced prisoners


Owen You can apply to have your licence removed after 10 years in the community. If during your time out you were recalled then that time is suspended until you come out again. As you have been out 7 years only 3 to go before you can apply. If the licensee is still under supervision at the 10 year stage a full risk assessment from the supervising officer will be required and must be sent to LRRS with the licensee’s representations. The risk assessment must be endorsed by the ACO. If the licensee is no longer subject to supervision he/she must send an application for termination of the licence direct to LRRS with any representations. If the Parole Board directs the Secretary of State to terminate the licence, the offender will no longer be liable to recall to prison. NIS would be notified accordingly."

Kay my brother has been inside for almost 12 years from the age of 17

He has changed so much over the years and finally wants a normal life , get married and have a family.

He has a fiancé he dearly loves she's been waiting so many years but now her family is fed up and found someone else for her they want her to forget him and marry this new guy who is not in any boundaries.. it's really sad hearing that has broken him inside out.. He is praying for a miracle every moment just to be out so he don't loose her for every. She is very sad too because she loves him and they planned future together. It's hard for her but she can't linger her family anymore

What can we do I feel so helpless. This government is useless.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40491331
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40491331
 http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/scotswood-prisoner-danny-weatherston-trapped-11626402