Today is the first of May. Ben's release hearing is set for May 2012, but he is expected to complete a minimum of 12 months in open prison first. He is still in HMP Shepton Mallet. Lord David Ramsbotham wrote to Crispin Blunt about Ben's failed move to open prison and got an apology back. Lord Ramsbotham forwarded this letter to me and I sent it in to Ben. Crispin Blunt apologised for the "distress" caused by the "administrative error" and promised that Ben is top of the waiting list to move. An apology is all well and good, but 8 weeks down the line and Ben is still in Shepton.
In an e-mail last week, Lord Ramsbotham told me he is intending to write to Ken Clarke about Ben's situation and to remind him that not only is the system in a shambles, but this man has served nearly 32 years. If readers of this blog would like to add their voice to his, please visit the Facebook site where you will find a template letter.
Thank you for your support.
Ed.
Showing posts with label Crispin Blunt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crispin Blunt. Show all posts
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Friday, August 6, 2010
Poor Crispin
The Prisons Minister seems to spend every other day being slapped either by his bosses or by the Daily Mail. Either he is trying to break out of old, failing, policies or he's a blithering idiot. Time will tell, I expect.
One of the issues he has seemingly had to retreat on is overturning Jack Straw's order on "public acceptability". You may recall that The Sun ran a story, a couple of years ago, about a Halloween Party held by some of the women in Holloway. Straw, as was his way, instantly promulgated an order that no activities in prison should be allowed that could not satisfy a test of "public acceptability".
That this was utterly spineless is just same old, same old. That was Straws way. What irritates me most about this order is that it assumes that The Public have any bloody idea of what goes on in prisons. An opinion is only as valid as the information and understanding on which it is based, so any test of public acceptability regarding prison activities will almost always be worthless in the face of general ignorance.
Crispin Blunt wanted to withdraw that order, returning to Governors the leeway to decide what was acceptable in their prisons. Or, as the Sun and Mail put it, "taxpayers pay for prison parties". The Dynamic Duo at No.10 slapped that idea straight down.
Undeterred, Crispin then declared a push for restorative justice and was promptly parodied by the media morons as "prison terms cut for saying sorry". Never thought I'd sympathise with a Prisons Minister...
One of the issues he has seemingly had to retreat on is overturning Jack Straw's order on "public acceptability". You may recall that The Sun ran a story, a couple of years ago, about a Halloween Party held by some of the women in Holloway. Straw, as was his way, instantly promulgated an order that no activities in prison should be allowed that could not satisfy a test of "public acceptability".
That this was utterly spineless is just same old, same old. That was Straws way. What irritates me most about this order is that it assumes that The Public have any bloody idea of what goes on in prisons. An opinion is only as valid as the information and understanding on which it is based, so any test of public acceptability regarding prison activities will almost always be worthless in the face of general ignorance.
Crispin Blunt wanted to withdraw that order, returning to Governors the leeway to decide what was acceptable in their prisons. Or, as the Sun and Mail put it, "taxpayers pay for prison parties". The Dynamic Duo at No.10 slapped that idea straight down.
Undeterred, Crispin then declared a push for restorative justice and was promptly parodied by the media morons as "prison terms cut for saying sorry". Never thought I'd sympathise with a Prisons Minister...
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