The Abolitionist No. 17 (1984)
Introduction / Commentary by John Moore
Number 17’s lead article is an extract from the book The Rapist Who Pays the Rent and argues for the criminalisation of rape in marriage. This reflects how RAP had in respect of sexual violence been moving away from an abolitionist perspective and increasingly being influenced by carceral feminist ideas. The edition also included RAP’s submission to The Committee on Prison discipline; an article by Brian Milne on the work of the Prisoners Abroad; Stephen Shaw writes about the links between unemployment and prison; and the Labour Campaign for Criminal Justice sets out the case against part-time imprisonment, then under consideration.
The majority of number 17 is made up of the Women in Prison (WIP), PROP and Inquest briefings.
The WIP section reports on the inquest into the death of Wilma Lucas. It is sadly another shocking case of a death at hands of the state. Lee Sadeem-Khan writes about her experiences of medical neglect and cruelty in Styal prison, experienced as an older woman in poor health. WIP report on (and support) the setting up of a self-help centre in Camden by sex workers. As well as news from a number of women’s prison there is a long update on Durham’s H wing and the experience of women incarcerated in it.
PROP’s Prison Briefing had technical problems which means our copies of the first and last pages were incomplete! The theme of the briefing is “Divide and Rule” and it provides an overview of the issues facing PROP and prisoners in the mid-1980s and the strategies PROP was trying to develop in response.
The Inquest Bulletin includes a special report on the two thirds of deaths in police custody in London which followed an arrest for drunkenness. One of the cases they discuss is Wilma Lucas (see WIP briefing above). Other articles report on attempts to restrict the use of “Lack of Care” verdicts in Coroners jury verdicts and a report of police shooting in Tottenham. Although on this occasion no one was killed by the police, the contradictions in police accounts and the strategic use of the media to disseminate misinformation - police sources referred to a gun battle when in fact the two victims were unarmed - has striking similarities with the police killing of Mark Duggan.