A prison scandal that should shame us all
The Government's disclosure, in answer to a question tabled by the Liberal Democrats, that an average of 1.7 babies are born each week to women in prison, has a melancholy and Dickensian ring to it. True, the prisons into which these women are serving sentences are not necessarily grim Victorian fortresses, but it is a dismal comment on the state of our society that we even tolerate the idea of so many children spending their first months of life behind bars.
The fact that we now have eight mother and baby units in British jails is a direct result of judges' decisions to send more women to jail. The female prison population has risen relentlessly under New Labour. According to the most recent figures in May, the figure then stood at 4,458 – almost double the total for 1996 – although only marginally up on 2007.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
1 comment:
Just read through the article, the situation - jails full of first time offenders, short sentences... contrasts interestingly with the system here in Spain. Any first time offender sentenced to less than two years is never imprisoned. I am sure it saves a lot of unnecessarily ruined lives.
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