Dean Barrell

“[the deceased] clearly thought he was in HMP Lewes for the remainder of his sentence (some 3 months). This was incorrect, as he was due for release on 17 February 2017. Had Mr [name redacted] been informed sooner and in a timely fashion, he may well have not taken his own life.”

“It took the Prison and Probation Service 7 days to communicate the actual release date to HMP Lewes. HMP Lewes attempted then to communicate that within 3 hours of receipt, but Mr [name redacted] had by then taken his own life.”

“Fixed term recalls for breach of licence conditions are not complex. By their very nature, they can result in short sentences to be served. Vulnerable prisoners deserve to know what their actual release date is, as soon as possible. A seven day delay as in this case, is simply unacceptable. The communication of the actual release date to a prisoner should, in this technological age, take less than 7 days.”