The Court of Appeal decision should mean that some prisoners will have assistance in navigating the stepping stones towards rehabilitation and, if they are deemed ready, release. Photo: with kind permission from Andy Aitchison. All rights reserved.
Since cuts to legal aid for prisoners came into force in December 2013, violence and self-injury in prisons have risen to record levels. Almost 300 people have lost their lives through suicide. But on 10 April 2017, the Court of Appeal, in its judgment on a legal challenge to the cuts, ruled that cuts to legal aid for prisoners are unlawful because they are inherently unfair.
The ruling was the result of a three-year legal battle by the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prisoners’ Advice Service (PAS).
