Leroy Douglas stole a mobile phone – but he’s been in prison twenty years

Leroy Douglas, 43, has spent almost half his life in prison because he stole a mobile phone. 

Back in 2005 when he was addicted to drugs in Cardiff, he robbed a man’s phone and was told he must serve a minimum of two and a half years. But twenty years have passed, and Leroy is still in prison. His sister, Natalie Douglas is campaigning for his release.

She said:

It was non-violent street robbery. Leroy walked up to the boy and asked if he could use his phone. The boy said yes, and Leroy just walked away with it. There was no violence. After two and a half years they should have looked at his case again, and he should have been let out, but he had an IPP added.

IPP sentences are a form of arbitrary detention

An Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (IPP), which was introduced through the Criminal Justice Act in 2003, could be given for more than 150 crimes – many of which were non serious. It was controversial from its outset.

According to a 2007 Howard League for Penal Reform report, the IPP sentence was ‘ill-conceived’ and ‘ultimately flawed’ and was a major contributor towards prison overcrowding and the serious lack of available resources necessary to help prisoners.

More than 8,700 people in England and Wales were given an IPP sentence – which gave a minimum jail term but no maximum, before the European Convention on Human Rights forced the government to abolish it in 2012, declaring detention beyond the term of sentence unlawful.

But although this meant no new IPP sentences could be given out, those prisoners already sentenced would remain subject to the sentence. So, many who have served years more than their given tariffs are still in jail.

The sentence has three parts: a mandatory period in prison, based on the seriousness of the offence, known as a tariff, followed by indefinite detention until the Parole Board deems that the person has reduced their risk enough to be safely released – generally by engaging in rehabilitative activities.

If a person serving an IPP sentence is finally released, they are then on licence in the community, subject to specific conditions. If there are even minor breaches of regulation, or the person reoffends, then they may be recalled back to prison at any time.

Indefinite detention is causing serious psychological harm

The sentence operates almost entirely on the principle of what someone might do rather than what they have done, and takes its toll on prisoners. It wrecks their lives by making them feel powerless and helpless, trapped in a system with no way out.

There are currently more than 2,600 people in prison serving an IPP sentence. Leroy is one of them – despite kicking his drug habit and having psychiatric assessments which claim he is not a danger to the public.

Natalie says:

He’s lost in the system. They said he had to complete some courses first, but he’s already done 36 of them. The justice system isn’t doing anything to help and he’s rotting away in there.

They keep fobbing us off, and keep putting his parole back all the time.

I don’t trust the prison system. It’s all backwards and they don’t have any idea what’s going on, and something needs to be done about it.

A couple of years ago, when he had a parole hearing, they even got his name wrong! He’s managing to keep going, because we are a very religious family, but we worry every single day about him- when we hear of people committing suicide in prison, or losing their head.

With no idea of when they will be released, studies have found the indefinite nature of detention can lead to significant psychological harm, including feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and despair, with the self-harm rate for IPP prisoners double that of other life sentenced prisoners, and almost double that of determinately sentenced prisoners.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr. Alice Edwards, has also criticized IPP sentences for the severe harm they inflict, not just on the prisoners but also their families.

During his imprisonment several of Leroy Douglas’s family members have passed away, including his 19 year old daughter who was just a baby when he first went inside. Natalie claims he has not yet had a chance to grieve properly:

But the situation is especially hard for my mum.

We live in Cardiff but Leroy is in HMP Stocken so, as neither of us drive, we don’t visit him often, although we speak with him every day. He says to tell you that he’s feeling very sad, and hurt, and feels he’s fighting a losing battle. He needs to come home where he belongs.

He’s not a threat to society, but they’re keeping him there like they’ve forgotten about him. It’s terrible. I need my brother’s story to get noticed, but at the moment he’s just lost among the many thousands of other prisoners who are also suffering. 

Release all those serving an IPP – including Leroy Douglas

More than 90 people have killed themselves in prison while serving an IPP sentence, while many others languish indefinitely in jail although committing only minor crimes.

There are ongoing calls from campaigners and human rights advocates for the government to pass legislation that requires the resentencing of all those still serving an IPP, and for the sentence to be proportionate to the crime which, in very many cases, it is not.

Even David Blunkett, the former Labour Party home secretary who introduced IPP sentences, now regrets this decision, claiming that IPPs have resulted in ‘deeply damaging outcomes’ for many prisoners, including those serving sentences for minor offences. He acknowledges that although IPPs were intended for serious crimes, they were often applied to petty criminals, leading to long term incarceration for minor crimes.

Help Natalie’s campaign to free Leroy from prison, by signing her petition here.

For more information about IPP sentences, check out UNGRIPP or read this explainer.

Featured image supplied