Legal News

Since 2013, eighteen inmates have taken their own lives in Woodhill Prison, Milton Keynes, which has the highest suicide rate of any prison in England and Wales.

Several concerns have been raised about the prison, including chronic understaffing and reliance on temporary and agency staff. Figures from the Ministry of Justice have revealed that since 2012, as the number of prison officers has fallen, the number of prison suicides has risen.

Psychiatrist Dr Elizabeth van Horn has spoken out about the prison, explaining that shortages of prison officers can result in inmates being locked up for as many as 23 hours a day, which can cause or worsen mental health issues. Dr van Horn highlighted the dangers of this, “particularly for people with pre-existing mental health problems” who “can’t cope with the isolation.” She continued: “What they need is to have meaningful activity, more social contact and less time isolated on their own.”

One inmate of Woodhill, Michael Cameron, died by hanging himself in April 2016, and the inquest’s jury concluded that there were “serious failures” to protect him as a vulnerable prisoner. When Michael arrived he had mental health issues and was reportedly “high risk”, but despite this, Michael was left unaccompanied. Although he was supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes, Michael was found dead after 36 minutes of being unaccompanied. Another of Woodhill’s inmates, Daniel Dunkley, hanged himself in July last year, and the jury at his inquest concluded that neglect contributed to him taking his own life.

Abigail Fogg of Duncan Lewis Solicitors comments:

“We have been increasingly concerned about the impact that cuts have had on everyday life in prisons. Prisoners are being refused their basic human rights simply because there are not enough staff on the wings to care for them. We frequently hear about prisoners who are banged up in their cells for over 20 hours a day because there is not sufficient staffing available, and that means that the prisoners cannot work, they cannot attend courses for rehabilitation and they end up spending their prison sentence alone in a small box staring at a wall. We are very worried about the impact this is having on the mental health on prisoners and the dramatic increase in self harm, depression, mental health conditions and tragically suicides. We carry out a number of Judicial Reviews to challenge conditions in prisons to ensure that the most vulnerable and forgotten prisoners do not have their human rights breached.”

Abigail Fogg, has considerable experience representing prisoners before the Parole Board and Independent Adjudications. She has acted in complex cases involving prisoners with life and Imprisonment for Personal Protection sentences who are significantly over tariff often with mental health or personality disorders. Abigail has a thorough knowledge of risk assessments and ensuring that the Parole Board considers all possible treatment pathways before making their decision. Abigail has successfully challenged Parole Board decisions with Judicial Reviews. Abigail has advised clients on a wide range of prison law matters including: pre-tariff applications, applications for exceptional reduction in tariff, Guittard applications, re-categorisation, Home Detention Curfew and Release On Temporary Licences, re-settlement, segregation, licence conditions, medical treatment, transfers, treatment matters, mental health and prison discipline

Duncan Lewis’ Prison Law Department

Duncan Lewis’ Prison Law department provides a unique service to clients, as it ensures that the care they have received throughout their criminal matters does not simply end when a person is at their most vulnerable, when taken into custody. Duncan Lewis has a team of specialised experts who can deal with any legal matter arising in prisons from parole, recall, pre tariff applications, categorisations, human rights breaches, Judicial Reviews and Inquests. For expert legal advice, please contact Duncan Lewis Solicitors on 0333 772 0409.