20 Oct 2020

Campaigners urge UK government to take action on indeterminate prison sentences

Communities Editor

They were meant to ensure that the most violent offenders were kept behind bars. But in reality the Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences have left many people stuck in prison for years, sometimes for relatively minor crimes. One mother fought for nine years to get her son released for the crime of stealing a mobile phone. Others have taken their own lives, fearing they’d never be freed. Now campaigners are urging the Ministry of Justice to end the uncertainty for almost 2,000 prisoners being held on indeterminate sentences in England and Wales.