In 2008 my partner received a 2-year IPP, well to be precise 1 year and 288 day: he was 27 years old at the time. What I can tell you categorically is that he was guilty of the crime he was charged with and he did deserve a custodial sentence, however what he didn't deserve was a life sentence through the back door that would still be destroying all of our lives today.
He is now 10 years over tariff and to date he has actually served a total of nine years in custody, that nine years has been four years from initial sentence and five years served over various recalls. I want to reiterate to everyone reading this that throughout his custodial time he has always been and remained enhanced at his first opportunity. He is, in the parole boards own words 'a model prisoner' and always completes more than is required of him. He works, participates in many voluntary activities and is well thought of by both prison staff, Probation and his peers yet still he remains lost in this hopeless system.The person that committed that initial crime is a far cry from the father and partner that is in the system today. He is 40 this year and currently in custody, it's been 18 months since his recall and in that time I have given birth to another child who is almost one.
Although he was fully supported by Probation, both inside and out and his psychologist who he worked with for over 20 weeks, voluntarily for 16 weeks of that may I add, however when he faced his parole board last autumn they disagreed and progressed him to a Category D prison, an option that was only brought to the table on the morning of the board and an option that none of the professionals were ever asked to consider until the day and all still agreed that release was their recommendation. The reasoning for the direction to cat D was to be tested further in the community for another 16 months; this was the only requirement of his board.
To date because of the current situation that testing will not occur so therefore yet again we sit in limbo, unsure if the board will go ahead as directed, unsure if he will be released and unable to make any plans for our future. Sadly though this is exactly what the IPP sentence does it delivers uncertainty, fear and instability in abundance. The irony in this is the biggest test is not on him but on his family, if there is one thing I would want anyone to take from this it is the devastating impact an IPP sentence has on us as a family, we are all serving this IPP.
Day to day life is hard to navigate, not only are we managing homes, families, finances, work and all the pressures that come with that we are also managing the emotional consequences of a loved one in custody with no end goal. Practically it's expensive, if you want to keep in touch you will need to send money in for credit, you will need money for visits and trust me visits are invaluable especially when you have children. Emotionally though it's exhausting and I say that with love, but it can bring you to your knees; knees that are already buckling with the practical issues you have to address. Separation, loneliness, uncertainty, frustration, helplessness, isolation, guilt, shame, embarrassment, anger and hopelessness are just a glimpse into the rollercoaster we both ride and that's not even opening the Pandora's box of what your children go through and how that effects them and us as their parents.
All we would ask is to be treated fairly within the justice system and to give our family and many others like us the chance to build a stable future for ourselves and our children, something that at present is impossible to do with the scourge of the IPP condemnation halting any small steps of progress.