Trapped: The IPP Prisoner Scandal
Walking on Eggshells
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Episode notes
What is life like for people on licence from their IPP sentence? Mark Conway and Andrew Morris both describe it as ‘walking on eggshells’. Today they meet Sam to tell her their stories.
Mark Conway tells how the parole process for IPPs starts from the very first day that you walk into prison. In 2019 he intervened in the terror attack at London Bridge, 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 finally bring change and the needless deaths of IPP, one being ‘Danny’ whom he knew in prison and whose death Andrew describes as "inexcusable and unforgivable that his life has been lost as a result of a system that chooses not to correct itself because it wants to be defiant to the end." Both Mark and Andrew are resilient and articulate about the IPP sentence and its effects, they 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 who worked for the prison service for 10 years about the prisoner / psychologist relationship and her complicated feelings about having been part of administering the IPP sentence. Outside of prison, the relationship between a patient and therapist is built on trust. But as Sophie highlights, IPPs serving prisoners know that any trust they have with their therapist is more conditional, as ultimately the psychologists are there to do risk assessments and act as an arm of the prison service, a system which is built to contain them. When explaining the IPP sentence to members of the public. Sophie finds that people struggle to "psychologically comprehend that it exists" and that it "interferes with people's sense of natural justice".
We also get an update on the political situation and Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Chalk's current thinking on IPPs.
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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
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