Trapped: The IPP Prisoner Scandal Zinc Media Group

The inside story of the measures being taken by members of the House of Lords for IPP prisoners in the current parliamentary Victims and Prisoners Bill.
 
We join Sam on 11th March 2024, three months after the inquest of Matthew Price, an IPP prisoner on license who took his own life, and one day before the Victims and Prisoners bill committee stage in the House of Lords. The two are linked because this bill is being heralded as perhaps the last opportunity for some time to use legislation to finally close the chapter on imprisonment for public protection sentences (IPPs) which the United Nations have called ‘cruel, inhuman and degrading’.
 
The bill came to the Lords with an amendment which will change the license conditions for IPPs from 10 to 3 years, which might well have saved Matthew Price, who killed himself at the 10-year point of his license. So it's a start, but many think this is not enough, and at this stage there’s an incredible 17 amendments which relate to IPPs, pinned to the Victims and Prisoners Bill. Sam takes us behind the scenes to look closer at the Lord’s amendments, asking how much difference can they make? Can they really change the story on IPPs?
 
Sam meets Lord Moylan who has been coordinating a group of Lords to table the amendments to the Bill. We hear more about his proposed change to the release test for IPP prisoners. She also sits down with Baroness Claire Fox, who is tabling the amendment on resentencing. This was originally proposed by Sir Bob Neil, Chair of the Justice Select Committee, and was rejected by the government back in 2023. Conservative Peer, Earl Attlee is the Grandson of the famous post-war Labour PM. He has long held an interest in criminal justice. He isn't confident that any of the amendments will get much support once they go back to the Commons and describes the political calculations being made by both the Labour and Conservative front benches.
 
Sam also catches up with Matthew Price’s lawyers Emma McClure and Andrew Sperling following Matthew’s inquest. The coroner released a Prevention of Future Deaths report on how the IPP sentence contributed to Matthew’s death, urging the Secretary of State for Justice to act and stop any further deaths occurring. This is one of an unprecedented three Prevention of Future Death notices relating to IPP prisoners, which have been sent to the Government this year.
 
At the Lord's debate on 12th March, the Labour Spokesperson for Justice, Lord Ponsonby and the Conservative Spokesperson for Justice, Lord Bellamy present a united front in opposing Baroness Fox's amendment: is it the end of the road for resentencing IPP prisoners?
 
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook, IG @Trapped_Pod
Follow the campaigners: www.ungripp.com @UNGRIPP & @ActionIPP
 
Contributors in order of appearance:
 
Lord Daniel Moylan
Baroness Fox of Berkeley
John Richard Attlee, The 3rd Earl Attlee
Emma McClure, Consultant Solicitor
Andrew Sperling, Solicitor Advocate
Credits:
 
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
 
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now

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The IPP sentence has created a sense of hopelessness amongst prisoners, leading to poor mental health, self-harm and numerous suicides, so we are ending this series by asking ‘what does hope look like’ for IPP serving prisoners?
 
Sam asks this question to some of the many people who are campaigning to bring an end to this grievous injustice: including Andrea Coomber, from the Howard League for Penal Reform; Richard Garside from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies; Simon Hattenstone from the Guardian and Elisabeth Davies from the Independent Monitoring Boards. We also hear from Frank, an IPP serving prisoner, who has been inside for 15 years and counting, on a two-and-a-half-year tariff. 
 
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about UNGRIPP visit: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
ww.ippcommitteeinaction.com / X @ActionIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Frank, IPP serving prisoner
Lord David Blunkett
Andrea Coomber, Chief Executive, The Howard League for Penal Reform
Hank Rossi, campaigner and activist
Simon Hattenstone, Journalist, The Guardian
Richard Garside, Director of Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
Elizabeth Davies, National Chair of the Independent Monitoring Boards
Lorna Hackett, Barrister at Hackett and Dabbs LLP and a tenant at Millennium Chambers
Alexander Horne, Barrister and visiting Professor at Durham University
Voices in Archive:
Edward Argar MP, Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation
Sir Bob Neil MP, Chair of the Justice Select Committee
Kevin Brennan MP, Shadow Minister for Victims and Sentencing
John Mcdonnell MP
Dr Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nicole, Madison and Matthew Price's stories.
Nicole and Madison both served Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. Now out on licence, Sam meets these two women in Parliament, whilst trying to lobby their MPs. She hears about life inside female prisons and how they are both doing now. As of December 2022, there were 40 women in custody serving IPP sentences.
Sam also talks to Emma McClure and Andrew Sperling, criminal lawyers who represented Matthew Price, who was on licence when he took his own life in May 2023. They describe the terror that Matthew faced knowing he could be recalled back to prison at any time. It's situation that is not unique for IPP serving prisoners on licence: to date, 19 people serving IPP sentences in the community have taken their own lives since 2020.
Read Matthew Price’s 'cry for help' email here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wgAUyjdjdr9j8gO5NWphtrno6eoI65OX/view?usp=sharing 
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info on the campaign for justice for IPPs: visit UNGRIPP: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
and IPP Committee in Action www.ippcommitteeinaction.com / @ActionIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Madison, IPP prisoner on licence
Nicole, IPP prisoner on licence
Emma McClure, Consultant Solicitor with SL5 Legal @Parole_Lawyer@mastadon.world
Andrew Sperling, Solicitor-Advocate and Managing Director of SL5 Legal www.SL5Legal.co.uk / @AndrewSperling
Production credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's life like for IPP prisoners on licence? Mark Conway and Andrew Morris both describe it as ‘walking on eggshells’.
Mark Conway intervened in the terror attack at London Bridge in 2019, tackling Usman Khan who was subsequently shot dead by armed police. Mark's first call was to his parole officer because he was worried he might get recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions. Andrew Morris says he is frustrated at the lack of will to end the needless deaths of IPPs, one being his friend ‘Danny’ whose death Andrew describes as "inexcusable and unforgivable." Both Mark and Andrew say they are some of the 'lucky ones' as they have survived a sentence which has broken so many others.  
Sam also speaks to criminologist Sophie Ellis about the prisoner / psychologist relationship and her complicated feelings about having been part of administering the IPP sentence.
Get in touch on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about UNGRIPP visit: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Mark Conway, IPP prisoner on licence 
Andrew Morris, IPP prisoner on licence
Sophie Ellis, Criminologist and Ph.D. researcher at Cambridge University @Psych_SEllis
Lord Daniel Moylan @danielmgmoylan
Voices in Archive:
Alex Chalk KC MP
Sir Bob Neill MP
ABC News - Citizens take down terrorist on London Bridge
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
A Zinc Media Production for the Institute of Now

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How IH fought and won the legal appeal against his DPP sentence.
IH is one of the few people who has successfully appealed against his DPP sentence. DPP stands for ‘Detention for Public Protection’, it works just like IPPs, but it was given to people who were under the age of 18 at the time of their conviction. IH served a DPP sentence for 16 years before he won his appeal. He was represented by Farrhat Arshad at Doughty Street Chambers. Today Sam meets IH and Farrhat to talk about fighting and winning his appeal, and the growing impediments that prison lawyers are facing in doing this kind of work.
Meanwhile, following an initiative run by IPP campaigners to gain support for their cause from the UN, in September 2023 Dr Alice Edwards, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, released a statement saying she had written to the UK government condemning the IPP sentence, saying "for many, these sentences have become cruel, inhuman and degrading." With rising awareness about this miscarriage of justice, pressure continues to grow on the government to take further action on IPPs.
 
Get in touch with the Trapped team on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about the campaign for IPP justice, visit: www.ungripp.com | @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
'IH', former DPP Prisoner
Lord Daniel Moylan, Conservative Peer @danielmoylan.com
Farrhat Arshad, Barrister, Doughty Street Chambers | @DoughtyStCrime | https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/barristers/farrhat-arshad
Production Team:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
Artwork: The Brightside
A Zinc Media production for the Institute of Now

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bernadette and Abdulahi's story, plus Sam explores mental health treatment for IPPs and the now controversial Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway.
Sam travels to Cardiff to meet Bernadette, whose husband Abdulahi received an IPP sentence in 2005. His original tariff was two years and he has been recalled back to prison four times. Abdulahi was born in Somalia and moved to the UK as a child. He is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and his mental health has deteriorated since being in prison and because of the anxiety-inducing uncertainty of his IPP sentence.
 
Sam also gets a call from an IPP serving prisoner we are calling Mitch. He was released in 2018 after 11 years and was recalled back to prison the same year for breaching licence conditions. We also hear from James Daly MP, prison and parole solicitor, Dean Kingham and Senior Lecturer in law at the University of York, Ailbe O’Louhglin, who explains the history of the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway, which is now considered controversial amongst many psychologists and psychiatrists.
Get in touch with the team on X, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram @Trapped_Pod
For more info about the campaign to end IPP sentences visit UNGRIPP: www.ungripp.com / @UNGRIPP
Contributors in order of appearance:
Bernadette Emmerson, wife of Abdulahi, an IPP serving prisoner 
'Mitch', IPP serving prisoner 
James Daly MP
Dean Kingham, Prison and Parole Solicitor
Graham Towl, Professor of forensic psychology at Durham University
Ailbe O’Louhglin, Senior Lecturer in law at the University of York
Dr Jo Shingler, Forensic Psychologist 
Shirley Debono, IPP Committee in Action
Voices in Archive:
Alex Chalk KC MP
Credits:
Reporter: Samantha Asumadu @SamanthaAsumadu
Executive Producer: Melissa FitzGerald @melissafitzg
Producer: Steve Langridge @SMLANGERS
Consultant: Hank Rossi
Artwork: The Brightside
A Zinc Media production for the Institute of Now

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.