Retrospective Abolition of The IPP Sentence

IPP Committee In Actionhonestly believe the evidence against the continued IPP legacy is now stacking up like never before.

We have the recent WGAD opinion, the findings and calls from UN Special Rapporteur Dr Alice Edwards and other UN experts, the growing number of IPP/DPP cases being quashed by the Court of Appeal, further CCRC referrals — and now this latest case reported by Joshua Rozenberg involving Niki Dean Haycock, who has reportedly been freed after nearly 18 years in prison following a serious legal error concerning the imposition of his IPP sentence.

Every one of these developments adds another piece to the evidence showing that the IPP legacy cannot simply be left to continue.

And this is why IPP Committee In Action has made a clear decision: we are no longer fighting for resentencing.

Resentencing would mean another lengthy process, potentially taking years, while people continue to suffer under a sentence that has already been recognised as fundamentally flawed.

Our fight now is for RETROSPECTIVE ABOLITION of IPP.

The evidence is stacking up against the Government from every direction — international human-rights bodies, UN experts, the CCRC, the Court of Appeal and, most importantly, the lived experiences of IPP prisoners and their families.

IPP was abolished prospectively in 2012. We believe it is now time to finally address those who were left behind.

The question is no longer “Should IPP be abolished?” — it already was.

The question is:

Why are the people who were trapped by it still being left behind?

The evidence is growing. The legal challenges are growing. The international pressure is growing.

Retrospective abolition is now the only fight left. And we intend to fight it all the way.

IPP Committee In Action