A WOMAN with a brain injury has been held in solitary confinement for nearly three years, a shocking inspectors’ report into the state of prisons in England and Wales has found.
The annual report by independent monitors boards (IMBs), published today, said many people with severe mental health problems continue to be inappropriately placed in prisons, with many put in segregation, describing this as a “chronic problem.”
In many cases, IMBs found that the more serious a person’s condition, the longer they were held in segregation due to long delays in transfers to mental health hospitals.
The announcement of a Women’s Justice Board should be cautiously welcomed, writes SABINA PRICE, but we need to see a recognition that our prison system is in crisis and disproportionately punishes some of the most vulnerable people in society



