UN Experts Call for Resentencing of 2,400 Prisoners Serving Indefinite Terms

Three United Nations special rapporteurs have demanded that Britain urgently resentence almost 2,400 people still serving Imprisonment for Public Protection jail terms, The Independent reported. The open-ended IPP punishments were scrapped in 2012 but not retrospectively. Thousands of prisoners remain in prison without a release date for years beyond their tariff, including some for minor crimes.

Once released, many IPP prisoners are recalled for minor breaches of strict licence conditions. ” The experts stated that these penalties involve prolonged uncertainty and cause serious psychological deterioration, including an increased risk of self-harm and suicide, and that such punishments may amount to psychological torture.

The latest UN intervention follows a major complaint submitted to Dr Alice Jill Edwards, the torture expert.

Dr Felicity Gerry KC submitted a complaint highlighting the plight of eight prisoners, including Thomas White, who has served almost 14 years for robbing a mobile phone and set himself alight after his mental health deteriorated in prison. Joseph Brady has spent 18 years in prison on a tariff of four years.

He has been released and recalled four times and has experienced severe mental health deterioration including incidents of self-harm.

Kerry Parish-McCann has served 17 years on a tariff of three years for robbery. She was 25 at the time and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and epilepsy. She has repeatedly cycled between release and recall while experiencing significant trauma, instability and repeated episodes of self-harm.

The experts raised particular concern regarding prisoners with disabilities, neurodivergence, acquired brain injuries, severe mental health conditions and histories of childhood trauma. They stated that the purpose of imprisonment must be rehabilitation and reintegration, and that a sentence leaving people without a realistic route to release while causing profound psychological suffering is at odds with those principles.