I’m writing this letter to express my feelings around my IPP sentence. Back in 2006 I received an IPP for a section 18 assault. I deserved to go to prison for what I done. I got released in 2012 six years later, that was 4 years over my tariff without any incidents.
I messed up and committed another offence, a section 47 assault and rightly so I deserved to come to prison. I have now been back in prison 6 years 5 months, I’ve done longer this time than my original sentence. The IPP sentence has had an effect on my fellow inmates and me. I never had any mental health problems before I got the IPP but sitting in a cell year in year out without hope of a release date wears you down.
Most IPP prisoners I started out with are dead or hooked on spice. The government stopped the sentence in 2012 but nothing changed for us. I understand there are some dangerous people on IPP but we have fell into the IPP category who didn’t deserve it. Something needs to change because there is going to be more deaths, more spice addicts and more broken families.
Thank you.