Prison Reform Trust: Stop pretending prisoners do not exist

Friday, 07, Oct 2005 12:00

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, has welcomed the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that denying prisoners the vote violates their human rights.

The ruling shows that "people are sent to prison to lose their liberty, not their identity or their citizenship", she said.

Prison had an important role in protecting the public, but also in releasing people less likely to offend again – which meant giving them a chance to rebuild their lives.

"Prisoners should be given every opportunity to payback for what they have done, take responsibility for their lives and make plans for effective resettlement, and this should include maintaining their right to vote," Ms Lyon said.

"It's time to stop pretending that people in prison don't exist."