The Abolitionist No. 11 (1982)
Introduction / Commentary by John Moore
This edition focuses on Wormwood Scrubs. The lead article, by PROP’s Geoff Coggan, reviews a home office report (aka whitewash) on prisoners’ protests in the prison and the subsequent assault on them by prison officers. This is a fascinating insight into both prison and how “official discourse” seeks to explain away its violence and repeated failure. As a counter balance the next article looks at the prison’s Annexe, an experimental unit for 40 prisoners, in particular those ‘with alcohol, drug and sexual problems’. Run as a therapeutic regime, the initiative is described as a rare example of ‘humane and positive features’ in the British penal system, while also noting that ‘it would be better if they did not have to go to prison’ to receive the support it offered.
No. 11 also includes a detailed article on prison medicine, with a particular focus on the drugging of women prisoners. The article argues for the abolition of the Prison Medical Service and the transfer of medical services to the NHS. This reform was actually achieved in 2013 and sadly did not achieve the changes its advocates had hoped for. Andrew Roberts writes about a Mental Health Bill, then working its way through parliament and the blurring of the distinction between what he calls “Positals and Hisons”.
The abolitionist’s ‘Scottish correspondent’ writes about Scotland’s political prisoners and the Bristol Group publish their latest (1980) table of the magistrate courts’ rates of imprisonment. Dorset ‘win’ with a rate of 12.45% against a national average of 8.45%. Gwent was the lowest with 3.20%.
The final article is by Douglas Kepper who wrote about Walnut Cottage, a community he had established, which was ‘entirely libertarian’ where ‘rules and regulations were non-existent’. Over eight years over 100 young people had stayed with him.
Like other editions, number 11 has several book reviews, including a detailed one by Tony Ward reviewing Ian Cameron’s An account Paid in Full: The Frank Marritt Dossier. This raises important questions about both Marritt’s treatment and the wider treatment of lifers. Given the massive expansion of life sentences this raises issues that remain highly relevant.