It was evident there was a problem
The ongoing Justice Committee inquiry into the dreadful Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence this week heard from its architect, David Blunkett, and Lord Thomas, the former Lord Chief Justice.
The IPP sentence was abolished in 2012, after parliament recognised it was cruel and unjust. Yet thousands who received the the IPP sentence remain trapped in an Orwellian nightmare of imprisonment or threat of imprisonment, because the sentence was not abolished retrospectively.
When the Committee reports next year, it will hopefully come out strongly in favour of urgent reform. In the meantime, important evidence is coming to light in the written evidence submitted to the Committee, and the oral evidence sessions.
Lord Thomas, for instance, told the Committee that "It was evident there was a problem" with the sentence some fifteen years ago, in early 2006, only months after the sentence came into force.
The former Home Secretary, David Blunkett, enthusiastic architect of the sentence back in the 2003, but who has since become one of its strongest critics, told the Committee that we were "in a really dangerous moment". It was difficult to see how we would get out of the current situation without taking "urgent measures", he said.
Through our IPP project, we are tracking the progress of the Committee, and supporting the work of campaigners, such as UNGRIPP, who are making the case for fundamental reform.
If you are signed up to our free eBulletins, you'll receive ongoing updates on this work.
And you can join me in February next year, when I'll be in discussion with UNGRIPP's Donna Mooney and Shirley Debono.