Man given open-ended prison sentence for robbing phone left in ‘limbo’

A man who has been imprisoned for more than a decade for stealing a mobile phone is stuck in ‘heartbreaking’ limbo after the government decided not to review a now abolished law.

Thomas White from Bury was given a minimum sentence of two years when he was convicted of street robbery after stealing a mobile phone from a couple in Manchester city centre. He is one of nearly 3,000 prisoners serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence, which sets a minimum but not a maximum term in prison.

IPP sentences were designed to protect the public from prolific and dangerous offenders, but were scrapped later by the Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, in 2012, because they disproportionately punished those who committed low level offences.

The father-of-one was told to undergo a series of progressive programs which are part of the requirements for release under an IPP, but his family claim many of the prisons he has been transferred to over the past 11 years do not have the necessary courses available.

Though IPP sentences were abolished in 2012, many incarcerated people like Thomas are still imprisoned under the now defunct law. Last year, the Justice Select Committee found that IPP sentences were ‘irredeemably flawed’ after a year-long inquiry. It recommended the government re-sentence all IPP prisoners.

However, the government has made the decision not to review open-ended prison sentences. Speaking to ITV News, Clara White, Thomas’ sister has spent years campaigning for his release and said she ‘cried with joy for two days’ after the Justice Select Committee ruling — but says her family’s hopes have now been shattered.

She continued: “I really am totally and completely devastated. I don’t understand how they can dismiss this and although we are shattered, IPP families won’t stop fighting.”

Clara says her brother’s mental state and physical health has rapidly declined and she has also suffered PTSD through her fight for her brother. She added: “Thomas spoke to me on the phone last week and you can hear it in his voice, he doesn’t think he will ever be released, and this is going to have a detrimental effect.

“His hair is falling out in patches and he can’t put on any weight, one time my mum went to visit, and she had to ask the guard to point out her son because he was so unrecognisable.

“He has lost all hope, this sentence has had a huge impact on our family and to have his hope taken away like that is heartbreaking.”

Despite the trauma, Clara has said that she will continue to fight her brother’s sentence and has sent his case to Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, a Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

In response to the findings in the report by the Justice Select Committee, the government accepted or partially accepted some of its recommendations, including a review of the Ministry of Justice and the Prison and Probation Service IPP action plan and improved mental health support for IPP prisoners. However, it rejected the call for an immediate review of all IPP sentences.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: “The government’s long-held view is that this would give rise to an unacceptable risk to public protection and that the IPP action plan, suitably updated, remains the best option by which these offenders can progress towards a safe release.

“As such, the government has no plans to conduct a resentencing exercise.”

In response, Chair of the Justice Select Committee, Sir Bob Neill, said the committee had been ‘not only disappointed but genuinely surprised’ by the rejection of some of its recommendations and feared that IPP Prisoners ‘will remain held in an unsustainable limbo’.

He said: “The committee recognised that addressing this issue would not be easy – that’s why we recommended that a small, time-limited committee of experts be set up to advise on the resentencing exercise. We are not only disappointed with this government response but genuinely surprised.

“There is now a growing consensus that a resentencing exercise is the only way to comprehensively address the injustice of IPP sentences and that this can be done without prejudicing public protection.

“Our report said this nettle needed to be grasped by all three branches of the state – government, Parliament and the judiciary. But the government has not listened. The nettle has not been grasped and, as a result, these people will remain held in an unsustainable limbo.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Protecting the public is our number one priority and resentencing all IPP offenders risks undermining this by releasing dangerous prisoners into our communities.

“Our current approach has already reduced the number of unreleased IPP prisoners by three-quarters since 2012 and new laws mean their sentences are reviewed 10 years after release.

“We are also now changing the rules so IPP offenders with five years’ good behaviour in the community will have their continued supervision reviewed automatically.”