IPP sentence: Top judge demands help for prisoners ‘left to rot’ under ‘morally wrong’ indefinite jail terms

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Britain’s former top judge has backed The Independent’s campaign for prisoners serving indefinite jail terms to have their sentences reviewed, and called for the government to take responsibility for the “morally wrong” punishment. Reacting to a series of shocking injustices highlighted by The Independent – including the case of James Lawrence, a father who is still in prison 18 years after he was handed an eight-month jail term for threatening someone with a fake gun – Lord Thomas said: “You just can’t keep people locked up in case they do something.” open image in gallery Former lord chief justice John Thomas has demanded action over ‘morally wrong’ IPP jail terms The controversial sentences – under which offenders were handed a minimum jail term but no maximum – were ditched amid human rights concerns in 2012, seven years after they were introduced by New Labour in a bid to be tough on crime. “It’s just morally wrong.” open image in gallery IPP prisoner James Lawrence, 38, has served almost 18 years after he was originally given an eight-month jail term With the Labour government not expected to support a recent resentencing bill tabled in the House of Lords, Lord Thomas has called for changes to the parole release test with a renewed focus on the proportionality of the punishment to the crime. “And accepting state responsibility, I think, enables you to say that, although the state has a duty to protect people, it also has a duty to render to those who have suffered injustice at our hands.” Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “The IPP scandal is still a long way from being resolved, and the sentence continues to inflict misery on thousands of people still trapped in the prison system, and their families.