David Shipley is a film producer who served time in HMP Wandsworth for fraud
On my first night in prison, I slept well. Perhaps the previous day’s stress and exhaustion played a part. Neither the thin rubber mattress, scratchy orange nylon blanket nor my feet hanging off the end of the bed stopped me falling into a deep sleep. Banging and shouting from other cells woke me a couple
Before I went to prison I thought a lot about what it would be like. Almost a year passed after I pleaded guilty to fraud and my sentencing, in February 2020. Informed by TV and film, I expected prison would be violent, dangerous and drug-filled. I was terrified. On 6 February 2020, I arrived at
John Major is wrong when he suggests only violent offenders should be automatically locked up – and as a non-violent ex-offender I should know. But focusing on the number of prisoners in Britain is a distraction from the real issue: reoffending. British prisons churn out prisoners who simply go on to commit more crime. Given
‘Have you got a light mate?’ The shout came from the top of the slipway on Deal beach. Bill, who had just arrived on the shore with a boat of migrants, looked up. Between him and the car park, two men were walking towards him. It was 1am, but the bright full moon lit them
