Description
Book Synopsis**Winner of a Koestler Trust Silver Award*** and the only book of its kind by a serving lifer. Contains a Foreword by Tim Newell, former Prison Governor life-sentence expert. A snapshot of the most severe sentence available in the UK which treats key topics in 40 easy to read sections. Alan Baker's personal selection and treatment of topics of concern to life-sentenced prisoners looks at subjects across the life-sentence regime. Ranging from the realisation which 'kicks in' after being sentenced in the dock - shock, numbness, hopelessness - to the intrinsic nature of long-term imprisonment, it is an explanatory handbook and survivor's guide. Life Imprisonment looks at aspects of long-term imprisonment from inside the head of a lifer: daily preoccupations, the uncertainty about when he or she will be released, the long years ahead, time for reflection, work towards release, setbacks and coping mechanisms and staying out of trouble. It tells about how a life sentence leads to risk assessments, courses, reports, psychological tests and possibly a period in a therapeutic community and/or a resettlement prison. To this first-hand knowledge, Alan Baker adds his thoughts on the state of the prisons, having experienced first-hand the impact that the justice system has on have on someone serving a sentence with no fixed end date. The result is a book packed with useful information as well as an insider's perspective on the major concerns of life-sentenced prisoners, whether about their sentence, future, their victims or the (often greatly magnified) minutiae of prison life.
Trade Review'Offers some useful advice encouraging prisoner readers to behave "positively" in order to obtain what they need to progress or gain privileges, including encouraging them to take charge of their sentence. It would seem appropriate for this book to be available in libraries in "local" prisons or in court holding cells, as well as in visitors’ centres for families and friends to gain an insight into the often closed world of prisons'-- Prison Service Journal; '[It is] welcome to see a book that can provide advice and support for this group of prisoners that is written by a peer...a mixture of practical information and personal "tips" from one who has "walked the walk" on how best to stay out of trouble, progress, and work towards release'-- Probation Journal; `A hard-hitting set of survival notes from someone writing with great experience of having walked the walk. It is grounded in reality … Alan Baker writes with sound practical advice and insight which is not for the feint-hearted. He takes prison seriously, recognising it as the place you don’t want to be’-- Tim Newell (From the Foreword).
Table of ContentsTo My Victims; After Sentence; Stages of an Indeterminate Sentence; Tariffs; Parole; Paper Reviews; Release from Closed Conditions; Escorted Town Visits; Single Cell Occupancy; Prisoners Protesting Their Innocence; The Offender Assessment System (OASys); The Personal Officer Scheme; Therapeutic Communities; Making a Contribution; Prison Visits; Open Conditions; Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL); Lifer Recall; Driving Lessons; Travelling Abroad; Personality Disorder; Prison Politics; Bullying; Same Sex Relationships; Drugs and Healthcare; Money Management; Mental Health Issues; Self-Harm; Hygiene Adjudications; Artificial Insemination; Complaints Procedures; Access to Official Files; The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA); Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC); The High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights; Offending Behaviour Courses; Possessions and Volumetric Control; Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes of Crime?; Bereavement; Emotional Trauma and Mental Health; Some Useful Addresses; Prison Slang.
