"Abuse of prisoners is NEVER permissible in a civilised society. This comment is
sent from England, UK, where human rights abuse of prisoners is a problem largely
ignored by the British Government. My only child, aged 18, died in the 'care' of
Styal Prison, England, UK, in 2003."
 — Pauline Campbell
Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, my 18-year-old daughter, was sentenced to a term of
imprisonment in England, UK, in 2003. Less than 24 hours after arriving at Styal
Prison, Cheshire, my only child was dead. Shamefully, it took nearly four years
before the Home Office, London, accepted liability for her death. In what was a
highly unusual move, the Home Office eventually admitted, in 2006, that Sarah's
human rights had been violated under the European Convention on Human Rights
(see Reference 2, below).
In 2002, the year before her death, Sarah spent six months on remand at Her Majesty's
Prison and Young Offender Institution (HMP and YOI) Styal, in north-west England.
She was severely depressed and, during the remand period, attempted to hang herself
seven times. She was led to believe that, if found guilty at her trial, she would
serve her sentence in a secure psychiatric unit. But in January 2003, convicted of
a non-violent offence, she was returned to Styal women's prison, taken to the
punishment (segregation) block, and locked in a cell on her own. "Down the block",
Sarah was subjected to an unacceptable level of sensory deprivation, ie no television;
no radio; no-one to talk to; and her only means of speaking to staff was through a
crack in the door.
The following day, despite being on so-called 'suicide watch', she somehow managed
to ingest some antidepressant prescription tablets. She then told prison staff
(including a nurse) what she had done, but they walked out of her cell, locked the
door, and left her alone. There were "avoidable delays" before staff summoned an
ambulance; there was an argument between a prison officer and a nurse about whose
job it was to call emergency services; and when the ambulance reached the jail it
was held up at the gates for eight minutes before being allowed entry. Sarah was
unconscious when paramedics reached her, and died several hours later in hospital
without regaining consciousness. In that fateful 24 hours, in the 'care' of the
State, Sarah was vomiting, fitting, suffered several cardiac arrests, and was
bleeding from her mouth and nose when she died. The cause of death was prescription
drug poisoning.
In January 2005, Sarah's inquest was held in a court of law, with a jury sitting.
At the end of the 11-day inquest, the jury's detailed narrative verdict (255 words)
said a "failure in the duty of care", and "avoidable delays" in summoning the ambulance,
contributed to her death. The jury agreed that she had not intended to die, and
therefore did not return a "suicide" verdict.
Just over a year after Sarah's death, and despairing at the relentless death toll,
I decided to engage in 'direct action'. In April 2004, prison-death demonstrations
commenced, and I made a vow to protest outside women's jails in England whenever a
woman died from self-inflicted injuries (Ref. 6). The argument is unequivocal: no
civilised society should tolerate prisons that drive their inmates to killing themselves.
At the time of writing (30 June 2007), 24 demonstrations have been held to protest
against women dying in the 'care' of the State. Police have arrested me on 14 occasions,
and I have been charged four times. On the first three occasions I was charged, the
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the charges before trial.
Thirty-seven women have died from self-inflicted injuries in women's prisons
(England and Wales), since my daughter's death in January 2003. Some were on remand
when they died; many were mothers. All were owed a legal duty of care. Prisons are
not above the law, and all inmates have a right to life under Article 2 (European
Convention on Human Rights). These deaths are preventable, but Government appears to
lack the political will to undertake major reform of the penal system. Women (and men)
who are mentally ill should receive treatment and care, in hospital if necessary; it is
cruel to send sick people to a place of punishment. Those convicted of non-violent
offences should receive community sentences. Women convicted of such serious offences
that they need to be locked up, should be held in small custodial units near to their
families.
My forthcoming criminal trial in Autumn 2007 relates to a demonstration outside Eastwood
Park Prison, Gloucestershire, in January 2007, when I was arrested and charged with
"aggravated trespass", an offence which carries the risk of imprisonment. The demonstration
was to protest against the death of a young mother, Caroline Powell, who left behind
five children. Ms Powell was on remand for a non-violent offence, and therefore legally
innocent, when she died. The date for my criminal trial has been fixed for 26 and 27
September 2007, to be heard before a District Judge at North Avon Magistrates' Court.
A London barrister (Mr Peter Thornton QC, head of Doughty Street Chambers) has kindly
agreed to represent me pro-bono when the criminal trial is held in September 2007:
www.doughtystreet.co.uk However, because I have been denied legal aid, I am unrepresented
when I attend pre-trial reviews in court. This is an affront to the principle of access to
justice.
The court knows I am a grieving mother. I am dismayed and shocked that the UK criminal
justice system seeks to criminalise and punish me for protesting against women dying at the
hands of the State. It is a lamentable state of affairs, but I remain undeterred, and will
continue to hold peaceful demonstrations outside women's prisons whenever a self-inflicted
death is reported. The right to peaceful protest is a traditional and legitimate expression
of a point of view, protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.
References/Information
1. American News Agency: Women's eNews [New York based independent news agency] - "Pressure builds
to close UK Women's Prisons", 18 March 2007: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3101/context/cover/
(Report includes photo of Pauline Campbell at a demonstration)
2. The Guardian newspaper: "Shameful admission", 27 September 2006:
http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,,1881338,00.html
(almost four years after Sarah Campbell's death, and in a highly unusual move, the Home Office, London, admitted liability for breach of Sarah's human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights)
3. The Guardian newspaper: "Simply the best", 21 August 2006: http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1854639,00.html
(Pauline Campbell nominated as one of the 15 most inspiring, creative, dynamic women in Britain)
4. The Guardian newspaper: "My daughter's death should not be labelled suicide", 4 May 2006 -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1767361,00.html
(article by Pauline Campbell).
5. The Guardian newspaper: "Locked in the past"; 15 February 2006:
http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,,1709611,00.html
(article, by Professor David Wilson, leading UK criminologist, refers to Pauline Campbell as a "modern-day suffragette")
6. BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour: "Protesting over the number of women who take their own lives in jail",
31 August 2004: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2004_35_tue_04.shtml
("Pauline Campbell has vowed to demonstrate outside every prison where a woman dies")
7. The Women's Timeline (begins 1860's): http://www.whywomen.org.uk/Downloads/timeline.pdf
(2004 entry: "Pauline Campbell organises protests outside Her Majesty's Prisons ..." [BBC])
Pauline Campbell
(Bereaved mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died in the 'care' of Styal Prison, England, UK: 2003)
Trustee of The Howard League for Penal Reform www.howardleague.org
Awarded The 2005 Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize www.emmahumphreys.org
30 June 2007, England, UK
· from a prisoner's family | Albany, NY
· from a prisoner's family | Albuquerque, NM
· from a U.S. prisoner | U.S. Penitentiary
|
