Her aunt and cousin arrived to lay flowers and pay their respects.
Bereaved mother Pauline Campbell blocked a prison van taking a prisoner into the prison. She has done this many times before. The Police arrived and eventually she was persuaded to let the van proceed. She usually sticks it out until she is arrested but on this occasion it was not convenient.
Another demo following another death at HMP Send.
The duty governor comes out for a word.
The victims aunt and cousin drop by to support the demo and pay their respects.
A prison van is stopped...
...on the grounds that this is not a safe place to bring a woman prisoner.
The Police arrive...
...and take a leaflett.
Pauline takes the officers statement.
"You want me to move...whats the magic word?"
The van finally is allowed to proceed.
Trip hazard?
That is the least of their worries in this institution.
Prison-death demonstration - Thursday 20 September 2007
to protest against the tragic death of the young mother Lisa Doe, aged 25
who died on 11 September 2007 while in the care of HMP Send, Surrey
(1) The protest on 20 September 2007 was the 26th demonstration to be held since protests began in April 2004.
(2) Lisa Doe is the seventh woman to die in prison so far this year.
(3) The appalling death toll: 39 women prisoners * (including Lisa Doe) have died since Sarah Campbell's death in 2003. Lessons are not being learned.
( * 12 women died after Sarah Campbell in 2003; 13 died in 2004; 4 died in 2005; 3 died in 2006; 7 deaths so far this year = 39)
[Figures refer to apparently self-inflicted deaths; England and Wales]
REPORT
* A small group of protesters held a peaceful 3-hour demonstration outside HMP Send and, for part of the afternoon, were joined by two relatives of Ms Lisa Doe, who laid flowers in memory of their loved one.
* At 2 pm, Mr Andy Peacock, Head of Reducing Reoffending (Duty Governor for the day) emerged from the jail, and spoke to protesters, but said he was unable to comment on Ms Doe's death.
* At 3.45 pm, a Serco prison van (BW04 VZH) was stopped as it attempted to enter the jail. The driver was informed that protesters considered the jail to be unsafe, in view of the recent death, and he was asked to take the women to a place of safety.
* Surrey Police were summoned to the prison. Officers 1905 and 2751 attended; sergeant 1905 indicated that Section 14, Public Order Act 1986, would be invoked if the prisoner transport van was not allowed to proceed into the jail. The Serco vehicle was eventually allowed to enter the prison, and no arrests were made.
* A number of visitors to the jail spoke to protesters, and expressed concern about the physical and mental wellbeing of their loved ones held in HMP Send.
* The Conservative MP for Mole Valley, Sir Paul Beresford, was invited to attend the demonstration, but did not respond to the invitation.
* The protest was attended by Sky Television; local reporters and photographers, and was also covered by local radio.
* At the end of the afternoon, protesters left bouquets of flowers and a memorial placard at the prison entrance, in memory of Ms Doe.
COMMENT
"Another woman has died, and another family is left to grieve.
"This latest death at HMP Send brings into sharp focus the prison's custodial care record. Two young mothers have lost their lives at Send Prison this year: Emma Kelly on 19 April 2007, and Lisa Doe on 11 September 2007. It is particularly worrying that both women were on 'suicide watch' when they died.
"Courts must act responsibly and stop sending women, many with psychiatric and drug-dependency problems, to the punitive regime of a prison, when they are in need of treatment and care. Unless and until this inhuman practice stops, more families will have to deal with the tremendous pain and anger resulting from the death of their loved ones." [Pauline Campbell]
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Our death penalty
26.09.2007 02:09
The Guardian just reported on the highest ever level of deaths in custody in England &Wales last year, at nearly 600. That's deliberately not counting the record number of Scottish and Northern Irish deaths too. They quoted the 'Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody', which sounds like a worthwhile body from it's name. So I had a look at who is on that Forum -
The core membership of the forum consists of senior representatives from each of the following:
* Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)
* Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)
* Coroners’ Society
* Department of Health
o High Secure Services
o Prison Health
o NOMS project lead
* Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO)
* Her Majesty’s Chief Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC)
* Her Majesty’s Chief Inspectorate of Prisons (HMCIP)
* Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND)
* Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC)
* National Offender Management Service (NOMS)
* National Probation Directorate
* Prison Service (PS)
* Youth Justice Board (YJB)
* INQUEST
Now forgive me if I seem a paranoid wanker, but they mostly seem like a bunch of lying establishment shits to me. I think we need to start compiling our own figures, and to do that we need a network of activists reporting from inside each and every prison. Would you agree ?
Danny
Forum was set up by the government - what do you expect?
28.09.2007 01:32
It meets three times a year and
"The forum does not have any formal powers and it aims to affect change through its standing and credibility among practitioners and government."
Sounds pretty useless. It was set up in response to
"the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) published its report on deaths in custody. Based on evidence it has heard from the organisation INQUEST, the committee recommended that the Home Office and Department of Health should establish a cross government expert task force on deaths in custody. "
Calling it a forum makes it sound like an NGO. HMG can say they are doing something by setting up this talking shop of the great and good etc etc
sl
maybe i'm paranoid danny - a mad translation of forum
09.10.2007 10:12
And of the ones that did have something, every single thing i pressed came up with same message - we don't give a feck and its not for you to know - or was it web engine error page not found - same message maybe?
The Forum will be meeting in June and October 2006.
this seems to mean, we can't do anything anyway, so we'll just meet twice this year, have a nice lunch, and not print any info.
June’s meeting focussed on learning and sharing and explored inquest verdicts, Coroner’s recommendations and Inspectorate and Investigators’ recommendations.
What exactly are they sharing and learning while they explore inquest and coroner’s reports,etc.
Could it be ways of reporting deaths differently , doctoring coroners reports,etc, to make deaths look less dodgy, and less due to state treatment and neglect?
The forum considered how recommendations are handled and whether this can be improved upon and how sources of learning could be shared.
Ideas thought up after a couple of bottles of bubbly,etc - I know, old chap, let’s remove the bodies onto the street, then they won’t count as deaths in custody,etc,
October’s meeting focussed upon the management of difficult prisoners.
This will include, but will not be limited to, the use of control and restraint and alternative methods of managing difficult and violent prisoners.
Medication time, line up for your fraggle juice/liquid kosh now inmates
Sounds crazy and a tad paranoid I admit. But considering how they massaged the dole , hospital queue figures, etc it might not be impossible.
And considering far more people have died in custody now, than ever did under the death penalty, and there is not much of an outrage about 600 people dying in all types of state custody - they may think the great English public will swallow anything.
After all, the majority of us work for a lot less than the value of the wealth we produce - which allows a small elite of parasites to live in luxury - yet you don’t get people complaining much about capitalism
m.caroline F.T.S.
e-mail:
kj0680@yahoo.co.uk
Deaths at Send
06.12.2007 18:04
While I know the girls committed crimes, hence why they were in prison it really does not surprise me, the girls ended up the way they did.... RIP Emma and Lisa.
SM