Prisoners’ legal bill ‘colossal’ – BBC News
“The cost to taxpayers of funding legal action brought by prisoners is almost 20 times higher than it was seven years ago, new figures have shown.”
BBC News, 10th February 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: prisons
Legal aid and prisoners – Ministry of Justice
“Justice Minister Lord Bach has today made a written ministerial statement on a consultation on legal aid and prisoners.”
Ministry of Justice, 10th February 2009
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Jury blasts staff over death in cell – The Times
“Staff at a privately run jail failed to do all they could to ensure the safety of an inmate who killed himself while suffering a mental illness, a coroner’s jury ruled yesterday.”
The Times, 10th February 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Prisoners demand right to be fathers after landmark European ruling – Daily Telegraph
“Six prisoners in British jails have applied to have children with their partners following a landmark European court ruling that their human rights would be breached if they are prevented from becoming fathers.”
Daily Telegraph, 8th February 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Regina (TF) v Secretary of State for Justice – Times Law Reports
Regina (TF) v Secretary of State for Justice
Court of Appeal
“A prisoner could be transferred to a mental hospital at the end of his sentence, only if two doctors recommended it and his medical condition and treatability justified it.”
The Times, 6th February 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
‘Too many’ mentally ill in jails – BBC News
“Thousands of people with mental health problems are ending up in jail rather than receiving treatment, the Prison Reform Trust has said.”
BBC News, 4th February 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Inmates ‘with nothing to lose’ threaten jails – The Times
“A growing number of prisoners serving long sentences who have ‘nothing to lose’ is a threat to the control and stability of the jail system, the prisons watchdog warns. Dame Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons, also said that there was a growing use of force to control the most pressurised jails in England and Wales.”
The Times, 29th January 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
R (Black) v Secretary of State for Justice – WLR Daily
R (Black) v Secretary of State for Justice [2009] UKHL 1; [2009] WLR (D) 19
“S 35(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, in allowing the Secretary of State for Justice rather than the Parole Board to determine whether certain long-term prisoners should be released on licence at the half-way stage of their sentence, did not infringe art 5(4) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”
WLR Daily, 26th January 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Gang culture flourishing in top-security jail, report reveals – The Guardian
“Fresh evidence that gang culture is flourishing inside Britain’s top-security prisons emerges today in a report by the chief inspector of prisons on Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire.”
The Guardian, 13th January 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
UK should take in more Guantánamo prisoners to help close camp, says Goldsmith – The Guardian
“Britain should be prepared to accept prisoners from Guantánamo Bay if it would help the US close the camp, Lord Goldsmith, Tony Blair’s former attorney general, said today.”
The Guardian, 2nd January 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Prison suicides down, but no room for complacency, says minister – The Guardian
“The number of inmates who kill themselves in jails in England and Wales fell last year, according to figures published yesterday by the Ministry of Justice.”
The Guardian, 2nd January 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Government set to expand DNA sampling of serious offenders – The Times
“DNA samples are to be taken from serious offenders who are in prison but were convicted before the national database was created, Jacqui Smith announced yesterday.”
The Times, 17th December 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Titan jails ‘will repeat mistakes made in US’ – The Independent
“Building giant ‘Titan’ prison complexes will lead Britain towards a ‘American-style’ justice system, a leading US civil rights lawyer will warn today.”
The Independent, 8th December 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Regina (JL) (a Youth) v Secretary of State for Justice – Times Law Reports
Regina (JL) (a Youth) v Secretary of State for Justice
House of Lords
“A near-suicide in custody which resulted in the prisoner’s mental incapacity triggered the state’s obligation to institute an independent initial investigation which complied with article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, protecting the right to life.”
The Times, 2nd December 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
40,000 prisoners released early – The Independent
“More than 40,000 convicts have been released early to ease the prisons overcrowding crisis, figures showed today.”
The Independent, 28th November 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
R (L) v Secretary of State for Justice (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) – WLR Daily
“Where a prisoner attempted to commit suicide and sustained incapacitating long-term injury the state was obliged to institute an independent initial investigation which complied with art 2 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as scheduled to the Human Rights Act 1998.”
WLR Daily, 27th November 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Justice system ‘fails vulnerable’ – BBC News
“The criminal justice system is failing people with learning disabilities from the point of arrest to their release from prison, a report suggests.”
BBC News, 19th November 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Regina (Noone) v Governor of Drake Hall Prison and Another – Times Law Reports
Regina (Noone) v Governor of Drake Hall Prison and Another
Court of Appeal
“Where a sentence of differing terms of imprisonment was passed in respect of a number of offences, some under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and others under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, any terms imposed for less than 12 months would be governed by the 1991 Act, but for those over 12 months the governing statute would depend on whether the offence was committed before or after April 4, 2005.”
The Times, 10th November 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Ban on votes for prisoners is illegal, says EU – The Observer
“The government must give prisoners the right to vote or the next general election will be illegal under European law, ministers have been warned by parliament’s influential Joint Committee on Human Rights.”
The Observer, 9th November 2008
Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk
Early release mistakes criticised – BBC News
“Opposition ministers have criticised the early release from prison of two criminals who had committed serious violent attacks.”
BBC News, 31st October 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
