Pauline Campbell has organised this demo following the death of Valerie Hayes, aged 42, on the 10th May 2006, while in the 'care' of Styal Prison, Cheshire.
The demonstration will take place on Thursday 18 May 2006
at 1.00 pm, for the duration of the afternoon, outside HMP & YOI Styal, Styal Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 4HR
Banners will be displayed, and flowers laid in memory of Valerie
Reporters/photographers are welcome to attend
How to get there : The prison is in Wilmslow approximately 13 miles south of Manchester. There is no bus that passes the prison but there is a bus service from Manchester airport to Wilmslow;
train - Wilmslow is the nearest station, which is about one and a half miles from the prison.
road - follow the signs for Manchester Airport, leaving the M56 at junction 5. At the airport follow the signs for Wilmslow (end of runway will be on your right). Continue to the T-junction and then turn right into Styal Road. The prison is approximately one and a half miles on your left.
Notes
Valerie Hayes is the second woman to die in prison this year.
Styal's troubled history is well known, following six deaths in one twelve month period (August 2002-August 2003).
Demonstration will be led by Pauline Campbell, mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died in the 'care' of Styal Prison on 18.01.03.
See: The Guardian, 03.05.06 (Society Guardian): "Reasonable redress" re women prisoners - refers to Styal Prison; Sarah and Pauline Campbell: politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,1765884,00.html Figures refer to apparently self-inflicted deaths, England and Wales.
Further information
(1) The protest will be the 18th prison death demonstration since protests began in April 2004.
(2) Recent press releases re Styal Prison:
09.05.06 "Styal Prison should not expand", The Howard League for Penal Reform; see www.howardleague.org
09.05.06 "Shocking overuse of force, segregation and isolation for suicidal women", INQUEST; see www.inquest.org.uk
10.05.06 "'Failing jail' inmate found dead", BBC Online News; see news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/4760555.stm
(3) "Death at the Hands of the State", by Professor David Wilson; book published by The Howard League for Penal Reform, 2005; ISBN 0 9036 8378-4; website: www.howardleague.org (Chapter 2 refers to Styal Prison, Sarah Campbell's death, prison death demonstrations, Pauline Campbell's arrests).
(4) Previous demonstration outside Styal Prison [organised by Pauline Campbell], took place on 17 March 2005, to coincide with an official visit by the then Prisons Minister Paul Goggins, who was visiting HMP Styal to open a new 'first night centre'. Reason for demonstration: to protest against the dilatoriness of Home Office Minister Goggins, who had waited until six deaths occurred at Styal before sending in the Prisons Ombudsman to investigate [see 'Notes' above]. Outcome of protest: Pauline Campbell arrested by Cheshire Constabulary for alleged obstruction of the highway; released without charge.
Comment
"Since my daughter's death in 2003, a further thirty-one women have died in the 'care' of prisons in England. (There are no women's prisons in Wales.) Despite my twelve arrests, I remain undeterred. Where there is injustice, there will be protest.
"There are certain principles on which there can be no compromise. The right to life is one of those. Valerie Hayes was owed a legal duty of care, and was sent to prison to lose her liberty, not her life. Seven women have died in the 'care' of Styal Prison since 2002.
"In 2004, I attended the House of Commons to give evidence to Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights. The Committee's report, published December 2004, concluded that so many prisoners are killing themselves in our jails that the State cannot be said to be maintaining its duty of care to its citizens. The Government's violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to life, is disgraceful. Styal Prison has a duty to uphold the law, viz Human Rights Act 1998, Article 2 (right to life)."
Pauline Campbell
[Bereaved mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died in the 'care' of HMP Styal, 18.01.03]
Trustee of The Howard League for Penal Reform
Awarded The 2005 Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize
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from No More Prison website - www.alternatives2prison.ik.com
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