People spray sparkling wine over a man who walked out of Nottingham Prison on the day an early release scheme came in to effect (Picture: SWNS)
‘It’s almost like it’s a sick dark joke,’ Roddy said of the temporary early release scheme. ‘I would laugh at it if it wasn’t so serious and it wasn’t affecting me in the way it’s affecting me.’
According to experts, a resentencing campaign could cut prison overcrowding by a third and free up the equivalent of the population of four average-sized UK prisons.
Richard Garside, the director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, said: ‘Even if the government sorts out the short-term prison capacity, they still face further capacity pressures in the coming few years.
‘Resentencing all those subject to the IPP sentence will go some way to heading off the medium-term prison capacity crisis that is headed the government’s way.
‘Labour, not unreasonably, argues that the immediate, short-term capacity crisis is a legacy of the outgoing Conservative government. But now Labour is in government, it is time to act.
‘If Labour continues to reject measures like the resentencing of those serving an IPP sentence, and other creative solutions to the medium-term capacity crisis coming down the road, the resulting mess will be on it alone.’
Roddy went on: ‘When I speak to MPs they all agree something needs to be done about it but none of them are getting on and doing anything about it.
‘It’s a problem that was created by politicians and politicians have come up with a solution.
‘There was a cross-party resolution – the resentencing – but that seems to rest with the justice secretary as an individual.
‘It is extremely urgent that they get on and do the resentencing because they’ve got blood on their hands already with these deaths – over 90 deaths by suicide in prison.
‘And we’ve found at least 10 deaths outside by people on licence who can’t cope anymore with the IPP sentence hanging over them and the threat of recall.’
Speaking in July after the government announced plans to reduce the IPP licence period from10 years to three, Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said: ‘I want to make progress towards a safe and sustainable release for those serving the IPP sentence, but not in a way that impacts public protection.
‘Commencing these measures is the first step in doing so.
‘I will continue to monitor progress in this area, and the government plans to consult expert organisations to ensure the right course of action is taken to support those serving IPP sentences.’
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘We are determined to make progress towards the safe and sustainable release of those still serving IPP sentences – which were rightfully abolished – while continuing to prioritise public protection.
‘The Prison Service provides additional support to those still in custody, including improving access to rehabilitation programmes and mental health support.’