By Adrian Gannon | Director of Fundraising and Communications
Disabled Prisoners
Since February, your donations have supported our Community Care Caseworker to deliver 7 advice clinics within 4 prisons (HMPs Leyhill, Pentonville, Thameside and Wandsworth). She has provided one-to-one legal advice and assistance to 83 prisoners, many of whom have a disability or mental health problems. You have also supported her to deal with hundreds more telephone and letter enquiries. She has also been working on a number of ongoing cases advising disabled prisoners.
Better conditions for a terminally ill, disabled prisoner - you helped us achieve this!
Prisoner B was a terminally ill, disabled prisoner being held in a Category B prison, despite the fact that he was a lower (security) category prisoner (Category C). He was placed in an upstairs cell- with the result that he could not move around the prison. He was also given inadequate food for his medical condition and often relied on officers giving him their food. Our Community Care Caseworker intervened and got him moved to a Category C establishment. After we made representations to that establishment, he was further de-categorised to security category D. However, the prison refused to transfer him because of his medical needs, saying he was on medical hold. We resolved this through correspondence and he is now, finally, at an open prison – where his medical condition is better managed.
Women Prisoners
Since our last update on activities in February, your donations have enabled our Women Prisoners' Caseworker to deal with hundreds of telephone and letter enquiries, and to deliver 13 legal advice clinics in 5 women’s prisons (at HMPs East Sutton Park, Eastwood Park, Holloway, New Hall and Send). A further 15 clinics were delivered to women prisoners by Peer Advisers - prisoner volunteers who had been trained by our Caseworkers to provide basic legal information and advice to their fellow prisoners. We have helped over 221women prisoners in the past 6 months through the clinics alone, and hundreds more through the telephone calls, letters and casework. We are also progressing in our work to extend our clinics into other women’s prisons around the country, including HMPs Bronzefield, Foston Hall and Styal.
As you will recall, PAS took part in Global Giving’s “We Believe In Girls” 50% matched funding campaign that took place in March. Thanks to your generosity, we raised £2,044 in donations and £1,009 in matched funding (which put us 5th out of the 246 charities involved in the campaign!) Thank you very much for your support.
A success story
Ms A was a life sentenced prisoner whom we recently represented pro bono. Legal aid is no longer available for these types of cases. Yet these are often the cases where prisoners require the most assistance to secure a transfer to open conditions prior to the expiry of their minimum term. Ms A had progressed as much as she possibly could throughout her nine years in custody and had the strongest possible case for consideration for a transfer to open conditions. She had made use of her time in prison as constructively as she could and remained deeply remorseful of the incident which had given rise to the index offence. The panel of the Parole Board that heard her case shared the same view and recommended her transfer to open conditions.
Other PAS news
Challenging the Legal Aid Cuts for Prisoners
Earlier this month, PAS and the Howard League for Penal Reform gave evidence at the Court of Appeal hearing for our long-running campaign for a judicial review of the cuts on government funded legal aid for prisoners. PAS staff and volunteers attended the court to support this hearing (pictured above). In the judgement (released today), PAS and the Howard League won the right to challenge the legal aid cuts after the Court of Appeal ruled that there was a risk that the system could be unfair and unlawful. A press release on this development can be found here. The Guardian wrote an article on the ruling which can be read here.
PAS Panel Discussion
In May we held an enlightening and thought-provoking panel discussion at the offices of the Grosvenor Estate. About 100 guests attended this special event.
Speaking on the topic “Does the European Convention on Human Rights provide adequate human rights protection to UK prisoners?” were:
Paula Harriott gave a moving testimony about her experience of being a client of PAS in the past.
Thank You
Thank you again for your important support which is making it possible for us to provide free legal advice to women nd disabled prisoners on their rights. The situation is very challenging right now in prisons across the country. With the cuts in legal aid, many vulnerable people are being denied a voice. Please share this report with others so that we can continue to provide legal advice to all those in need.
Many thanks for your help,
Adrian
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