'My brother will die in jail without law change'

An RAF veteran says his brother may die in jail, despite his sentence having a tariff of just two-and-a-half years.

Roddy Russell has supported his brother Rob since 2009, when he was jailed for making a threat to kill.

But 15 years later, Rob, from the Forest of Dean, is still in prison because of the indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) he was given.

The government said it is working to ensure the "appropriate course of action is taken to support those still serving [IPPs]".

The IPP sentence was scrapped in 2012, but the abolition was not retrospective. It means hundreds of people remain in jail on sentences which are widely acknowledged to be unfair.

Roddy said Rob's mental health got much worse after he realised he would not be released when he thought.

He said: "After the two and a half year point, he'd become disengaged. He's lost all hope, disillusioned, feels that there's no light at the end of the tunnel.

"On at least two occasions he's attempted to take his own life."

Rob is currently an inmate at HMP Swaleside, in Kent.

His brother said Rob no longer cooperates with the prison system, which would be the only way he could be considered for release.

Rob was arrested in August 2009, the first time he had ever been in trouble with the law.

Witness statements made by police officers said he had left a death threat on the voice mail of a former partner. He was then found outside her house, with two cans of petrol nearby.

Rob pleaded guilty to making threats to kill, with a judge describing the incident as "chilling".

After an appeal, he was sentenced to an IPP with a tariff of two years and six months, after which he could be considered for release.

Roddy admitted his brother did wrong, but said the amount of time he has now spent in jail is totally disproportionate to the crime he committed.

"What he did must have been terrifying for the victim," he said.

"What I'm campaigning for is the disproportionate length of sentence.

"There was a certain point while he's been in prison that he has seen murderers, rapists, paedophiles, other criminals that have committed heinous crimes come into prison after him and then get released.

"My fear is that he'll die in prison.

"He won't get released if there's no change in the law and he'll spend the rest of his life in prison, along with all the other IPPs," he added.

The pair had a strict upbringing in the Forest of Dean, with parents Roddy said were "heavy drinkers" after the death of a daughter at a young age.

Roddy joined the RAF, serving for 22 years and becoming a corporal.

Rob became a fabricator and welder, but began to develop mental health problems and became dependent on alcohol.

However, Roddy said his brother has been sober since his arrest fifteen years ago.

He said that if he were released from prison, Rob would need help with his mental health but could recover.

Before he became uncooperative in prison, a plan was drawn up to treat him at a psychiatric facility.

Roddy said: "The plan was to repair his mental health, give him a staged release into the community.

"It would slowly increase the time he spends in the community to reintegrate him and hopefully become a fully functioning working person.

"Based on what the psychiatrist had said, [it would take] six months. His old employer is willing to employ him and provide him with some accommodation."

Campaign group UNGRIPP (United Group for Reform of IPP) supports prisoners on IPPs and their families.

According to its most recent figures 1,132 people, including Rob Russell, have never been released from their sentences.

Of those, 1,118 have served more time than they were initially sentenced to, and UNGRIPP believes Rob Russell is one of the longest-serving IPP prisoners.

The group estimates 90 people have taken their own lives while serving an IPP, and is calling for all prisoners still on IPPs to be re-sentenced.

UNGRIPP campaigner Sara Ramsden said: “[Re-sentencing] is the only option because it's the only way the thousands of people and their families who are still trapped within this abolished sentence would finally get some hope of getting off it.”

She said giving each IPP prisoner a new sentence would not need to involve new court cases, as documentation already exists in each case.

And she accepted some of the most dangerous prisoners serving IPPs would be switched to life sentences.

She said: "We're not talking about a unique set of offenders. They were just caught up in a time that a sentence was available that was widely overused.

"It's nothing to do with perceived risk. We are every single day in this country releasing people through determinate sentencing.

"We're just asking to be treated fairly by the justice system, and the irony of that statement catches me every time I say it."

The politician who introduced the IPP, former Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett, has admitted they were a mistake and called for major reform.

In 2021, he told a House of Lords debate: “I got it wrong.

"The government now have the chance to get it right.”

The House of Commons Justice Committee called for the re-sentencing of all IPP prisoners in September 2021, calling IPPs “irredeemably flawed”.

The government says IPPs were introduced to prevent offenders who were considered dangerous from being released even though the offence did not merit a life sentence.

The new Labour government recently made a series of key reforms to the way IPP prisoners are dealt with, due to be introduced in November 2024.

Broadly, they make it more likely that IPP prisoners who are released from jail will stay out of prison without being recalled.

But critically, they do nothing to help prisoners like Rob Russell who have never been released from prison.

In a statement, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “It is right that IPP sentences were abolished.

"The Lord Chancellor is committed to working with organisations and campaign groups to ensure the appropriate course of action is taken to support those still serving them.

“The Prison Service continues to provide additional support to those still in custody, including improving access to rehabilitation programmes and mental health support.”

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