by Stella Kaye

Created on: January 23, 2008   Last Updated: January 31, 2009

PRISON LIFE VARIES DRAMATICALLY

Here in the UK, all prisons are not the same and the way an inmate is treated can vary dramatically from one prison to another. Much depends on the nature of the conviction, how dangerous the offender is believed to be or whether a prisoner is maintaining innocence. However prison life is portrayed in the media, the reality is somewhat different. Life within prison walls can perhaps only be truly described by someone who has been imprisoned.

Inmates who have robbed banks or laundered money are given hero status but those convicted of sexual offences are treated as the lowest of the low in the prison hierarchy by officers and fellow prisoners alike. And of course there is an element of luck involved depending on the individual opinions of inmates and prison staff who the prisoner comes into contact with on a daily basis. Just one uncompromising officer or cell mate can make life unbearable.

I have been visiting an innocent man, wrongly convicted of sexual crimes for almost a year. During that time, he has been in three different prisons which have had widely different regimes. He tells me that prison life is more about retribution than rehabilitation. He is hoping to appeal his conviction but it will be a long, uphill struggle and it would be far easier for him to admit to crimes he has not committed in order to be released quicker. This cannot be right in a civilised society. It takes on average twelve years for an innocent prisoner to be released here in the UK because no real assistance is readily given by an inadequate justice system that will not acknowledge its own mistakes.

The first prison he was sent to on remand, before sentencing, was bearable, but he still needed to be segregated for his own safety and was described as a 'Vulnerable prisoner' due to the nature of his conviction. Educational facilities were provided and advice and encouragement freely given to prisoners who were eager to spend their time productively.

After the sentence he was sent to one of the most notorious jails in the country where the daily regime was harsh and the food like pig-swill. He has never smoked in his life but was made to share a cell with a chain-smoker. He spent his days sewing boxer shorts, packing tea-bags and cleaning for many hours at a time. He was subjected to brutal treatment and coercive methods to persuade him sign away his innocence. The prison was overcrowded and antiquated; it was an absolute hell hole - even from a visitor's

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