Should convicts have the right to vote? Should jails be privatised? Lord Woolf shares his views on the future of British prisons
Erwin James
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 April 2011
The first time I met Lord Woolf was 20 years ago when he was conducting his famous inquiry into the Strangeways prison riot and I was serving life for murder. My encounter with the former Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales took place in the chapel of Long Lartin high-security prison in Worcestershire. Two days after Strangeways went up, we had our own mini-riot on Long Lartin's B wing. As soon as it erupted the prison officers vacated the wing and barricades were erected. During the 15-hour siege that followed, the fabric of the wing was destroyed. Cell doors were ripped from their hinges, water pipes were smashed and fires started in the association rooms. My next-door neighbour went berserk. "Let's burn the nonces!" (sex offenders) he roared, over and over. Already serving life for the murders of five people, he had nothing to lose and would have inflicted serious harm on some vulnerable prisoners had the IRA men on the wing not intervened. The calmer among us managed to re-establish some order among the chaos as the hours passed. But it was a long and uncertain night.
In the months following the Strangeways disturbance, rioting and protests were widespread in prisons across the country. Prison life was never more precarious. When Woolf arrived in his sharp pinstripes and starched white cuffs, and spoke to us in a manner that told us he genuinely wanted to listen, he was a comforting visitor.
To read the full article, click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/apr/20/punishment-easy-part-lord-woolf
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