ABSTRACT
The chapter presents and critically reviews the prison policy in England and Wales from 2013 to the present day against the backdrop of the legalisation of prisoners’ human rights and the incorporation of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic law. It documents the implications of the incorporation of the ECHR for the prison service’s duty of care, with particular reference to the rights to life, to an effective remedy and freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In doing so, it highlights the importance of the legalisation of prisoners’ human rights to prisoners and their families alike. It goes on to document how key negative outcomes of the current prison experience, such as increases in self-inflicted deaths, self-harming and violence, as well as reduced opportunities for purposeful activity are a poignant reminder of the limitations of human rights as a strategy for sustained penal reform. These are an antithesis to a humane prisoner treatment. A humane prisoner treatment entails a culture of respect for prisoners’ human rights and dignity, which can only be protected if we show pragmatism and courage and implement a rational sentencing policy that aims to significantly reduce the prison population in England and Wales.
