Sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) are a “horrific indictment of the British justice system,” according to Alice Jill Edwards in an interview with News.
With the introduction of IPP by Labour in 2005, judges could now impose prison terms without a specified date of release.
The coalition government abolished them in 2012, but the decision was not made retroactively, therefore 2,852 inmates—1,227 of whom have never been released—remain behind bars.
The Special Rapporteur of the UN on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, Ms. Edwards, urged the incoming administration to undertake a full or partial resentencing process for it.
It happens at a time when Sir Keir Starmer’s administration is dealing with a crisis of overcrowding, necessitating the implementation of an emergency measure that prolongs the time suspects can be detained in police cells.
Ms. Edwards referred to the current actions as “unfortunate” since they excluded those serving an IPP, which she has previously called a type of “psychological torture,” and included early release of inmates.
