{"id":377376,"date":"2025-08-27T10:31:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T10:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/377376\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T10:31:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T10:31:20","slug":"prisoner-trapped-on-abolished-indefinite-jail-term-took-his-own-life-after-government-refused-to-resentence-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/377376\/","title":{"rendered":"Prisoner trapped on abolished indefinite jail term took his own life after government refused to resentence him"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Breaking<\/p>\n

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\"Breaking<\/p>\n

A prisoner trapped on an abolished indefinite jail term<\/a> for 13 years longer than his original sentence took his own life weeks after the Conservative government refused to right the historic wrong.<\/p>\n

Keith Gadd died aged 60 inside category B HMP Bristol<\/a> with no friends or family left to contact.<\/p>\n

He had never been released from the controversial Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP)<\/a> jail term he was handed in 2006, despite serving almost five times longer than his original tariff of three years and five months.<\/p>\n

Mr Gadd is among 94 IPP prisoners<\/a> who have taken their own lives after losing hope of being freed from the open-ended jail term, which has been branded \u201cpsychological torture\u201d by the UN.<\/p>\n

The sentences, which were scrapped in 2012, have left thousands trapped in jail<\/a> with no release date, with some serving up to 22 times longer than their original tariff.<\/p>\n

A prisons watchdog<\/a> found prison staff missed key warning signs before Mr Gadd\u2019s self-inflicted death on 9 March 2023 and said they needed to do more to recognise the increased risk of suicide and self-harm for IPP prisoners.<\/p>\n

\"Inspectors<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Inspectors found HMP Bristol was one of the \u2018most unsafe\u2019 prisons in the country in 2023 (PA Archive)<\/p>\n

His death came a month after the then-justice secretary Dominic Raab refused recommendations from the cross-party justice committee for all remaining IPP prisoners to be resentenced.<\/p>\n

Former conservative MP Sir Bob Neill, who was chair of the justice committee, said at the time that the government had \u201cmissed an opportunity to right a wrong that has left nearly 3,000 people behind\u201d. <\/p>\n

A report from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) Adrian Usher, published this week, found Mr Gadd, who was jailed for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, had a history of previous suicide attempts and suffered from anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n

A risk assessment in 2021 warned he would need ongoing monitoring and experienced suicidal thoughts when he felt things were not going right for him, often withdrawing and becoming socially avoidant.<\/p>\n

Many of these signs were apparent in the days before his death, the report found, adding: \u201cHe did not go to work, spent more time in his cell, and his behaviour to his friends was out of character.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three prisoners on his wing had told staff they were worried about him, and their concerns should have been given \u201cmore weight\u201d in light of his IPP status, the report said. <\/p>\n

Mr Gadd had also been waiting for three months for the justice secretary to approve his transfer to open prison after he was recommended for the move by the Parole Board. This would have been a source of \u201canxiety and frustration\u201d, the ombudsman said.<\/p>\n

Mr Gadd was found unresponsive in his cell at 8am on 9 March and pronounced dead shortly afterwards. <\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Former lord chancellor Dominic Raab refused justice committee recommendations to resentence IPP prisoners (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Mr Usher concluded HMP Bristol, a category B reception prison, was an \u201cinappropriate location\u201d for Mr Gadd because it was unable to offer him the risk-harm reduction work or mental health support he needed.<\/p>\n

He had previously spent a year living in open conditions at HMP Leyhill but was returned to closed conditions based on \u201chearsay evidence\u201d from another inmate, who claimed he had overheard Mr Gadd threaten to stab someone. <\/p>\n

Mr Gadd felt this was a malicious accusation from a prisoner who had bullied him, but his explanation was never explored by prison staff, the report said.<\/p>\n

He had only met with a key worker once in the seven months he was held at HMP Bristol, which was described as one of the \u201cmost unsafe prisons in the country\u201d by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in a report later that year.<\/p>\n

Charlie Taylor issued an urgent notification over conditions at the site in July 2023 after six suicides in just ten months. Many prisoners are held for 22 hours a day in cells designed for one person.<\/p>\n

\"Chief<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor issued an urgent notification about conditions at HMP Bristol in 2023 (PA Media)<\/p>\n

In September that year, the prisons ombudsman issued a special bulletin following \u201cworrying increase\u201d in self-inflicted deaths among those serving IPP sentences.<\/p>\n

Campaigner Shirley Debono, co-founder of IPP Committee in Action, joined a protest outside the Bristol prison following Mr Gadd\u2019s death. <\/p>\n

She warned IPP prisoners\u2019 hopes were \u201csnatched away\u201d when Mr Raab dismissed resentencing, despite a major report urging ministers to appoint an expert committee to look at the process. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the damage was done the moment Dominic Raab said he wasn\u2019t going to resentence these prisoners,\u201d she told The Independent. <\/p>\n

The government is considering fresh proposals from former Lord Chief Justice John Thomas and the Howard League for Penal Reform for all IPP prisoners to be given a release date with two years of their next parole hearing. <\/p>\n

A Prisons Service spokesperson said: \u201cOur thoughts remain with those who knew Keith Gadd, and staff at HMP Bristol have received bolstered training to better support IPP prisoners.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is right these sentences were abolished, and we continue to work with organisations and campaign groups to ensure appropriate action is taken to support those still serving their sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans<\/a> website to find details of your nearest branch<\/p>\n

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org<\/a> to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org<\/a> to find a helpline near you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-377376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115100273090939869","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}