Daily Mail, 16th March 2008 

More prisoners could be let out early under emergency measures to tackle the jail overcrowding crisis, Jack Straw admitted last night.The Justice Secretary said he could not rule out agreeing to more early release plans.

It comes after a prisoner told Mr Straw that life in his jail was “like a holiday camp”.

Mr Straw said: “Nobody in my position can rule out emergency measures but, by God, I’m working very, very hard to avoid that because this is all about maintaining the confidence to the public.”

Yesterday, during a visit to Highdown prison in Surrey, Mr Straw smiled as he recalled his meeting with the inmate who also told him that prisoners should be locked up without access to luxury items such as televisions.He also insisted that community work was better than jail.Community punishments, he argued, “can work better” and should be used in “appropriate circumstances”.

Better thing again Mr. Justice Secretary Jack “by God” Straw. The convicts aren’t going to like being sent home early from their “holiday camps”. You are almost certain to be sued in respect of this breach of their human rights if you try to do so - all at our expense, of course!

When I were a lad prisons used to be unpleasant places so that if a person was sent there the unpleasant experience made them think, “Dont want any more of that. I will go straight from now on thank you”.

Incidentally, our local newspaper reports that an open prison close to where I live is to be made into a mixed sex prison containing male convicts and female convicts and young offenders.   I bet he won’t dare try to send anyone home early from that holiday camp.

This entry was posted on 19/05/2008 at 11:19 am and is filed under Fly on the wall. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.