This Week in Court: The image of one mum being left a nervous wreck in the dock should act as a stark warning
Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
All who caught even a momentary glimpse of Lisa Haughey in the dock of courtroom 45 this week could not have failed to feel, at the very least, a modicum of sympathy. The mum appeared nothing short of a nervous wreck, often taking a series of short, shallow breaths or removing her glasses to wipe away tears with a tissue as she faced the all too real prospect of being sent to prison.
Even more poignantly, this would have resulted in a painful separation from her young daughter, three months shy of her second birthday. This 42-year-old had only previously had a handful of minor brushes with the law, and yet, here she was, on the brink of spending the foreseeable future in HMP Styal.
Evidently vulnerable, just over a year previously, Lisa had been identified by criminals as a potential mule who could be used to smuggle drugs into Walton prison. She was not the first, and she certainly will not be the last.
For years now, gangs have ruthlessly preyed upon countless women, many not too dissimilar to her, in order to perform such a task. No doubt, they are seen as ideal candidates, unlikely to arouse the suspicions of guards while merely paying seemingly innocent visits to inmates serving time behind bars.
Take the case of Leah Burke, locked up for 15 months after agreeing to smuggle drugs into jail inside her bra amid a background of menacing threats against her. Another woman, Katie Wilkinson, became involved while “desperate for drugs”.
Even professionals working within the prison estate have been known to fall victim. Healthcare assistants Amy Portwood and Adrienne Juniper became “infatuated” with two convicted robbers while employed as contractors at HMP Risley in Warrington, and nan Barbara Peters was blackmailed into hiding alcohol, tobacco and mobile phones inside her underwear while serving as an officer at HMP Altcourse, with a “serious criminal” having chillingly warned that he “would get her on the outside” if she did not comply with his wishes.
In Lisa Haughey’s case, she foolishly agreed, initially, to smuggle cannabis into HMP Liverpool in return for payment of £500. But, having “bottled it”, failing to show up for two scheduled visits, those seeking to control her turned nasty and threatened to “smash her house up”
While it could be argued that, to an extent, she had brought her fate upon herself, her actions must be viewed in the context of a woman with a history of mental health issues whose cocaine use had spiralled following the death of her father a year previously. With contraband worth very modest sums in general society ballooning to eye-watering values inside, the rewards for those behind such schemes are obvious.
The trade commonly leads to prisoners spiralling into vast debts after being given drugs on tick, leading to violence and disorder behind bars when the time to pay up inevitably comes. Family members on the outside can then become drawn into the smuggling process as the threats fall upon them, perpetuating this particularly vicious cycle.
As Judge David Potter told Haughey in his sentencing remarks on Tuesday: “The impact of cannabis in the prison estate is more serious than it would necessarily be on the streets of Merseyside. It leads prisoners to become vulnerable.
“It leads them to become open to assaults, bullying and gang violence, because they get into debt. Families often get involved in the conflict as well, being pressured to bring drugs into prison or service the debt that the inmate has incurred.
“Drugs therefore pave the way for gangs and rivalries to form in prisons. People cannot complain if, having conveyed drugs into prison, the resulting sentence is harsh. The courts need to show that deterrent sentences are appropriate, because the conveying of prohibited items into prisons is widespread.”
Haughey’s story, and the stories of those who preceded her, should act as a stark warning of the nefarious tactics of organised crime groups and their ability, time and again, to coerce otherwise decent women into committing very serious offences, leaving their lives in tatters and potentially ending up in jail themselves. Ultimately, she was spared such a fate by the narrowest of margins, having embarked upon substantial efforts to turn her life around since making this most grave error.
Many will not be so fortunate, with Haughey’s personal mitigation being about as strong as is likely to be seen within the law courts. Now drug free, the mother-of-two is expected to take up employment as a key worker, supporting addicts who find themselves in similar positions to the one she found herself in in late 2024.
It is in all of society’s best interests to wish her every success. While criminal elements may have seen her as the perfect vehicle for their nefarious doings back in December of 2024, there can now be few who are better placed to provide invaluable guidance to those in need, a real life cautionary tale and lived experience in January of 2025.