Pauline Campbell sent this report of her acquittal when common sense prevailed at the court hearing. How much it cost to get to this point is another question.
OUTCOME OF CRIMINAL TRIAL
North Avon Magistrates’ Court – Wednesday 26 September 2007
Defendant: Pauline Campbell
Charge: Obstructing the highway
Judge: District Judge David Parsons
Defence barrister: Mr Peter Thornton QC, head of Doughty Street Chambers; instructed by Messrs Hickman & Rose, London
(1) The alleged wrong occurred outside HMP & YOI Eastwood Park on 24 January 2007, at a prison-death demonstration to protest against the death of mother-of-five Caroline Powell, 26, who died in the ‘care’ of the jail on 5 January 2007. Ms Powell was on remand, and therefore legally innocent, when she died.
(2) Today’s trial finished at around 5.30 pm, and was attended by representatives from the ‘No More Prison’ group; Crossroads Women’s Centre, London; and other supporters. A demonstration was also held outside the court building, commencing at 9.30 am.
(3) Reporters, photographers, and local television were present at today’s court hearing.
(4) BBC Online News report: “Woman cleared after jail protest“; published 26 September 2007 –

Continue reading →

600 dead in custody in 2006, one third of which were suicides. Pauline Campbell alerted me to the Guardian sub headline as she continues to demonstrate after the deaths of women in “the care” of HM Prison (privatised) “service”. BBC Report including Pauline Campbell’s comments.
Here is Pauline’s report of her second demonstration at HMP Send this year”:
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]
PHOTOGRAPHS
Photos of the demonstration are available from freelance photographer Guy Smallman.
(Charitable/non-profit publications are not generally charged, but a by-line must be given.)
The demonstration was also attended by a freelance video journalist; anyone wanting contact details – please e-mail me.
Pauline Campbell
[Bereaved mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died while on ‘suicide watch’ in the care of Styal Prison, 2003]
Trustee of The Howard League for Penal Reform
Awarded The 2005 Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize

Continue reading →

DEMONSTRATION
TO PROTEST AGAINST THE DEATH OF A WOMAN PRISONER
Lisa Doe, aged 25
died on Tuesday 11 September 2007, while in the care of HMP Send, Surrey
Demonstration will take place on Thursday 20 September 2007
at 1.30 pm, for the duration of the afternoon,
outside HMP Send, Ripley Road, Send, Surrey, GU23 7LJ
Banners will be displayed, and flowers laid in memory of Lisa
Reporters/photographers are welcome to attend
NOTES
*
Lisa Doe, a mother, is the seventh woman to die in prison so far this year.
*
In 2006, three women died in the care of Her Majesty’s Prisons.
*
The demonstration will be led by Pauline Campbell, mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who collapsed, dying (while on ‘suicide watch’) at HMP Styal on 18 Jan 2003; Sarah died several hours later in hospital. See Guardian article.
*
The demonstration at HMP Send on 20 September 2007 will be the 26th demonstration to be held outside women’s prisons since protests began in 2004. To date, Pauline Campbell has been arrested 14 times.
*
Figures refer to apparently self-inflicted deaths, England and Wales (though there are no women’s prisons in Wales).
HMP SEND: PREVIOUS DEMONSTRATIONS
11 May 2004 – to protest against the death of Paige Tapp, 23, a severely depressed mother-of-two, who died in the care of Send Prison on 18 April 2004. Ms Tapp was on ‘suicide watch’ when she died. See: letter published in The Guardian, 15.10.04, from five grieving mothers (including Paige Tapp’s mum) – “Crisis in women’s prisons”.
9 May 2007 – to protest against the death of Emma Kelly, a 31-year-old mother, who died in the care of Send Prison on 19 April 2007. Ms Kelly was on ‘suicide watch’ when she died.
INFORMATION
(1) BBC Online News report re Lisa Doe’s death, published 12.09.07.
(2) Labour has presided over a shameful increase in the number of women sent to jail. In 1997, when Labour took office, 2,629 women were imprisoned. Number of women and girls currently locked up: 4,390 (as at 07.09.07). Yet there has been no equivalent increase in the number of women committing offences, or of women committing more serious crimes.
(3) The Guardian, 13.03.07: “the number of women in prison has increased far more rapidly than the number of men: over the past decade there has been a 126% increase in the number of women in prison, compared with a 46% rise in men in jail”.
(4) The Corston Report (a report by Baroness Jean Corston of a review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system): ISBN 978-1-84726-177-9; published March 2007 – report was handed to Government in March 2007; Ministers have promised to respond by Autumn 2007. The Home Office-commissioned report calls for existing women’s prisons to be closed down, and replaced with a local network of small custodial units reserved only for those who are a danger to the public:
(5) All prison inmates are owed a legal duty of care.
(6) When a death occurs in State custody, the burden is on the detaining authorities to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation for the death. In the absence of such explanation, Article 2 (right to life) is breached: European Convention on Human Rights [Human Rights Act 1998]. Information source: House of Lords, House of Commons, Joint Committee on Human Rights, “Deaths in Custody”, 3rd Report of Session 2004-05, Volume 1; ISBN 0 10 400573 4, published 14.12.04.
COMMENT
“The tragic death of the young mother Lisa Doe, so soon after the previous death at HMP Send, raises serious questions about the prison’s custodial care record.
“Thirty-nine women prisoners (including Lisa Doe) have died in the ‘care’ of the State since my daughter’s death in 2003. Lessons are not being learned. Who is responsible for this appalling death toll?
“In 2003, following my daughter’s death, I repeatedly called for an independent public inquiry: Two years later, I was informed that Government had rejected this in favour of conducting a review (by Baroness Corston).
“However, in the six months since the Corston Report was handed to Government, and while Ministers continue to deliberate, five women prisoners* have died. It is a shocking state of affairs.
“Instead of building 9,500 extra prison places, Government should increase provision for the mentally ill. Two out of three women in prison are mentally ill; prison exacerbates their difficulties. There is something cruel about sending sick people to a place of punishment.” [Pauline Campbell]
* 5 women prisoners:
Kerry Devereux (HMP Foston Hall; 18 April 2007)
Emma Kelly (HMP Send, 19 April 2007)
Helen Mary Cole (HMP Styal, 3 June 2007)
Marie Cox (HMP Holloway, 30 June 2007)
Lisa Doe (HMP Send, 11 September 2007)
USEFUL CONTACT DETAILS
INQUEST
www.inquest.org.uk – advice, policy, research re deaths in custody
The Howard League for Penal Reform
www.howardleague.org – the oldest penal reform charity in the UK
Pauline Campbell **
[Bereaved mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died in the so-called care of HMP & YOI Styal, 2003]
Trustee of The Howard League for Penal Reform.
Awarded The 2005 Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize.

Continue reading →

The flash action by prison officers should be taken seriously. Very seriously. The government acted quickly to get a court order to force their hand. Not only is this a sign that prisons aren’t working but that the overcrowding seriously impeded any meaningful work they might be able to achieve. The whole system is a mess and a blot on what is supposed to be a civilised society.
“The bureaucracy has to be seen to be believed,” says Mr Robinson. Legal papers, suicide watch checks and personal data form small piles for prisoners who may be in the prison for under a week. “The strain is increased hugely in my time because of drugs and mental health problems.
“When I started here we were locking up criminals. Now it’s mostly people with a drug habit or psychiatric disorders. I’d guess 80%.” Source Guardian 20/8/2007.
This extract from a Guardian interview with a prison officer illustrates how bad things are away from public view with Thatcherite policies maintained and intensified under New Labour. Let’s repeat what he’s saying.
When I started here we were locking up criminals. Now it’s mostly people with a drug habit or psychiatric disorders. I’d guess 80%
So what we suspected is the case: prisons have become used for more than dealing with criminals, including the most vulnerable people in society with mental illness. Even so his estimate of 80% is unbelievable. But we and the government better believe!

Continue reading →

A piece in the Birmingham Evening Mail (23/8/2007) reported the early release of a violent prisoner fro Winson Green. It’s not clear whether it was an error or a case of swapped identity. As an after thought the report mentions casually that two people committed suicide there last weekend.
One of the deceased was an Iranian awaiting sentencing. He was on a charge of “harbouring”. Well that’s cleared that up then. The other was an Irish national inside for burglary.
Meanwhile Pauline Campbell has had one charge replaced by another because she insists on demonstrating every time a woman dies in the “care” of HMP. If she didn’t take the trouble then the cases would pass by unnoticed just as these two men did.

An article has appeared on the BBC News site: Prisons fail to ‘learn lessons’
Pauline Campbell demonstrates every time a woman dies in a British prison. She has been arrested on numerous occasions and is frequently intimidated by either the police or prison van drivers (now usually in private hands with low paid staff) or both. The recent demonstration at Holloway is well recorded where Pauline and another bereaved mother, Gwen Calvert are shown being manhandled by a burly police officer. Pauline is thrown to the ground.
Pauline has spoken to people at high levels in government and is recognised by leading organisations. They recognise her courage and tenacity. Yet the treatment she gets on demonstrations and in court has to be seen to be believed.
Fortunately Pauline is in the habit of documenting not only the deaths, but the subsequent demonstration to draw attention to them and the consequences of doing this.

Continue reading →

The peaceful protest following the death of yet another woman in prisons in the UK is documented here.It shows a police officer manhandling Pauline Campbell and another protester, Gwen Calvert a pensioner whoseson Paul died in Pentonville . It shows the privatised prison van which was driven in a manner to intimidate those demonstrating about the death.
Further coverage

Continue reading →

From Pauline B Campbell
Prison-death demonstration – Monday 9 July 2007
to protest against the death of Marie Cox, aged 34
who died on 30 June 2007 in the ‘care’ of HMP and YOI Holloway, London
– the 25th demonstration to be held outside women’s prisons in England since protests began in 2004
PROTESTERS ANGERED BY:
Alleged police brutality at demonstration An ugly incident took place outside HMP Holloway. Legal advice will be sought following allegations of police brutality. Pauline Campbell, and another woman protester (an OAP), were pulled, pushed, and dragged, by male police officers. At one point, protesters alleged Pauline Campbell was ‘thrown to the ground’ by a large policeman; protesters reckoned he was about 16 stone.
Prison van driver’s aggressive driving (Serco) Earlier in the afternoon, in a separate incident, a Serco prison van arrived at the jail, was signalled to halt, and the vehicle stopped. Protester Pauline Campbell was positioned immediately in front of the vehicle, but several times the driver started moving the vehicle slowly forward, until the van was about two inches away from making bodily contact. The manner of driving was potentially dangerous, and appeared to be designed to intimidate protesters.
REPORT:
* Around 25 protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside Holloway Prison, during the afternoon of Monday 9 July 2007, to protest against the tragic death of Marie Cox, 34, who died in the care of HMP & YOI Holloway on 30 June 2007.
* The four and a half hour demonstration was attended by protesters from Yorkshire, Cheshire, and London, including representatives from FRFI London (Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!); ‘No More Prison’; and the Crossroads Women’s Centre, London.
* Marie Cox is the sixth woman to die in prison in the first half of this year – double the figure for the whole of last year (three women prisoners died in 2006).
* Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP, Islington North, was sent details of the demonstration, but did not respond to the invitation to attend the protest.
* Local reporters and photographers attended the demonstration.
* At 5.10 pm, Serco prison van BX54 YNC, arrived at the prison entrance. Protesters blocked entry. The driver tried to intimidate protesters by driving his vehicle slowly forward towards Pauline Campbell, stopping about two inches short of making bodily contact. After a few minutes, he gave up, turned the vehicle round, and left the main prison entrance. He then entered the jail via another entrance and, as his vehicle reached the prison building, protesters repositioned and again blocked entry.
* At around 5.20 pm an all-male police contingent arrived: constables 649, 463, 533 and 332. Police action enabled the prison van to enter the building, but the manner in which this was achieved was completely unacceptable. No-one was arrested, and no-one was cautioned, but two policemen used brute force against two female protesters (both grieving mothers, and one an OAP) – Pauline Campbell, and pensioner Mrs Gwen Calvert. Mrs Calvert is the bereaved mother of Paul Calvert who died in the ‘care’ of HMP Pentonville in 2004.
* An official complaint will be lodged with the Metropolitan Police following this ugly incident. Protesters allege Pauline Campbell was ‘thrown to the ground’ by PC 649, readily identified by his size (around 16 stone) and bearing a large tattoo on one arm. Mrs Calvert then stepped forward to protest about his treatment of Pauline Campbell. PC 649 then grabbed Mrs Calvert by the arm, pulled her away, and bodily lifted her off the ground, and carried her to the pavement. He then pushed her roughly, which could easily have resulted in a fall. PC 463 then grabbed Pauline Campbell, and dragged her out of the path of the van. All this was captured on moving film and stills (time coded camera), and was witnessed by eight people (a number of protesters had left by this time). Mrs Calvert, from East London, complained to officers about police behaviour and ‘bully’ tactics.
* At 5.35 pm, shortly before leaving the jail, Pauline Campbell spoke to PCs 649 and 463 and informed them that protesters believed an assault had taken place against two female protesters (Gwen Calvert and Pauline Campbell), and that the matter would be reported.
* Before leaving, protesters left bouquets of flowers and a memorial placard outside the jail in memory of Marie Cox.

Pauline Campbell sent me the following. It is about the death of the sixth woman to die in prison during 2007. Pauline also traces the history of Holloway in respect of the death of women prisoners. I think the news got hidden under that of the new leader, weather and attacks on British cities. Seems that the Times on Line just found space to devote a couple of lines, no other trace. No further comment.
DEMONSTRATION
TO PROTEST AGAINST THE DEATH OF ANOTHER WOMAN PRISONER
Marie Cox, aged 34
died on 30 June 2007, while in the ‘care’ of Holloway Prison, London
Demonstration will take place on Monday 9 July 2007
at 1.00 pm, for the duration of the afternoon,
outside HMP & YOI Holloway, Parkhurst Road, London, N7 0NU
Banners will be displayed, and flowers laid in memory of Marie
Reporters/photographers are welcome to attend
NOTES
*
Already six women have died in prison this year: Marie Cox is the sixth woman to die. (In 2006, three women prisoners died.)
*
The demonstration will be led by Pauline Campbell, mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died in the so-called care of HMP & YOI Styal on 18 January 2003.
*
The demonstration on 9 July 2007 will be the 25th demonstration to be held outside women’s prisons in England since protests began in 2004.
*
To date, Pauline Campbell has been arrested 14 times, and is currently awaiting criminal trial at North Avon Magistrates’ Court following a demonstration outside HMP & YOI Eastwood Park on 24.01.07 to protest against the death of Caroline Powell, 26 (mother of five children), who was on remand, and therefore legally innocent, when she died.
*
Figures refer to apparently self-inflicted deaths, England and Wales.
INFORMATION RE HOLLOWAY PRISON
(1) Times Online (News in Brief), dated 02.07.07 (“Prisoner hanged”) states Marie Cox was awaiting sentencing for trespassing with intent.
(2) Previous prison-death demonstrations at HMP Holloway:
(a) 26 April 2004, following the death of Julie Angela Hope, aged 35
(b) 27 May 2004, following the death of Heather Waite, aged 28 –
(c) 9 November 2005, following the death of Karen Ann Fletcher, aged 30
(3) HMP Holloway – “one woman remains in a coma after being cut down from a makeshift noose” (May 2004)
* Waite = correct spelling of surname (Home Office notification of death was incorrect)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
(i) Despite the fact that “crime has fallen by 35% since 1997” (The Observer, 08.04.07), Labour has presided over a shameful increase in the number of women sent to prison. In 1997, when Labour took office, 2,629 women were locked up. There are now 4,390 women and girls in prison (as at 29.06.07). Yet there has been no equivalent increase in the number of women committing offences, or of women committing more serious crimes. The culprit is Labour’s get-tough sentencing policy.
(ii) The number of women in prison has increased far more rapidly than the number of men: over the past decade there has been a 126% increase in the number of women in prison, compared with a 46% rise in men in jail.” Source: The Guardian, 13.03.07: (Q & A: Women in prison).

Continue reading →