This article will be looking at three prisons in depth: HMP Frankland, HMP Wakefield and HMP Five Wells. It will look at the overall composition of the prisons, the facilities and high profile convictions.
HMP FRANKLAND
HMP Frankland is located in County Durham and is a category A mens prison housing around 800 prisoners. The prison holds male prisoners aged over 21 years old and sentence is four years or more, serving a life sentence or deemed high risks. The rooms are singular with each prisoner having their own toilet and sink.
Many of the prison inmates are convicted murderers, high risk sex offenders and convicted of terrorism related offences. It holds a reputation as one of the toughest prisons in the country. Facilities at the prison include: healthcare unit, management progression unit, gym access, and psychological support. Prisoners are allowed to study full or part time as well as working in practical areas (furniture production, cutting and sewing and recycling).
Michael Adeolajo: Adeolajo is a British citizen and was convicted of Islamic extremist, due to the committing of the murder of Lee Rigby in May 2013. Prior to the murder he was linked to a banned organisation in the UK called al-Muhajiroun, extremist views shared. He had previous convictions for his actions of extreme ideology and participating in terrorist activity. He was convicted of the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby in 2013. He had mowed down Rigby in his vehicle, stabbed and hacked his body with knives and a meat cleaver in an assault. Upon the arrival of police officers he had begun to charge at patrolling cars before being shot. He was sentenced to a whole life term.
Wayne Couzens: Former PC had killed the young woman after she had vanished from travelling from her friends home. He was a constable with the Metropolitan Police, he was arrested six days after Sarah went missing. Her body was discovered in a woodland in Ashford, Kent, a week after she disappeared. He was sentenced to a whole life term for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. As a result of her murder there has been universal demand for action to tackle violence against women. Lord Justice Fulford rare sentencing was held due to Couzen abusing his duty of care and position as a police officer. In October 2021 Couzen had lodged an appeal against his sentence, in July 2022 the whole-life term appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal.
Ian Huntley and Charles Taylor:
- Huntley had committed the double murder of two young girls in 2002. Huntley had murdered Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both 10 years old, in Cambridgeshire in 2002. He lured the girls to his house and killed them before dumping their bodies in a remote ditch. After murdering the two young girls he gave TV interviews and joined in searches whilst his girlfriend at the time Maxine Carr gave him a false alibi.
- Taylor is the ex-president of Liberia who is currently serving 50 years in the UK prison system. He used child soldiers to mutilate enemies and was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in 2012.
- Soham child killer Huntley befriends Blood Diamond Civil War ex-Liberian President Taylor. Unlikely friendship in prison and discuss world affairs. "Huntley looks up to Taylor and thinks he is really intelligent; he often seeks Taylor's advice about the prison regime and world affairs".
HMP WAKEFIELD
HMP Wakefield is located in West Yorkshire. It is a Category A mens prison that is maximum security. It homes approximately 600 of Britain's most dangerous criminals. It has been known as 'Monster Mansion' due to the amount of high profile, high risk sex offenders and murderers. Further, in 2001 an ultra-secure unit was built to home the most dangerous inmates.
Harold Shipman: The British doctor was a serial killer who had murdered around 250 patients. In 1975 it was discovered he had written several fraudulent prescriptions for opiate pethedine and was forced out of practice. In 1998 one of his patients an 81 year old woman was discovered dead in her home only hours after Shipman had visited her. Her entire estate worth £400,000 was left to him. As a developing practitioner he had insisted that no autopsy was necessary. In 2000 he was convicted on 15 counts of murder, 1 count of forgery, and sentenced to life imprison. He had committed suicide in prison by hanging himself. A government inquiry was conducted in 2005 and the report found that he had killed an estimated 250 people from 1971. He had injected the victims with a dose of diamorphine and signed a death certificate stating the death was caused by natural causes.
Klaus Fuchs: Fuchs was a German citizen who joined the German Communist Party in 1930s but fled to Britain in 1933. He was given the codename REST and was a spy for the Soviets. He had passed on secret documentation - in particular he had helped the Russians to progress and copy the American atomic bomb design. MI5 had originally carried out an investigation into Fuchs that reviewed his record, pre-war allegations of communist activity, but found no incriminating evidence. His spying days were over in 1949. He had confessed to spy for the soviets and pleaded guilty for charges of breaching the Official Secrets Act. He was given a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment, upon release he went home to East Germany.
Robert Maudsley: Known as 'Hannibal the Cannibal' was found guilty of murdering convicted child molester John Farrell. He is known by this nickname as it is rumoured he had dug a spoon into the brain of one of his victims, an allegation he denied. Notorious serial killer spends 23 hours a day inside a bulletproof cell after killing four people - including three whilst incarcerated. All those that he had killed was child molestors. He sleeps on a concrete slab as a bed. The cell has bulletproof windows and the toilet/sink is bolted to the floor. He has a small slot at the bottom of his steel door where he is able to receive food. He had been very open about not reforming as he is 'happy and content in solitary' and if he was to be released into the public again he would kill. He is believed to be Britains longest serving prisoner.
HMP FIVE WELLS
The HMP is based in Wellingborough and is managed by G4S. It is a new prison known for being a category c settlement for adult males. The purpose of its construction and design is to enhance rehabilitation of men being transformed back into society. The design of the prison aims to support the Ministry of Justices ultimate goal to build a safe and secure environment right for rehabilitation.
Feature of the prison include the following. There are no bars upon the windows and landings are split into three with a holding of 20 men. There is an association space for residents to use. The visitors hall has been designed to be open and create a sense of normality. It creates a more positive and progressive approach to imprisonment and aligning with the governmental plan to focus upon rehabilitation.
Convicted paedophile Michael Thurman (80) was "glad to be moved" to the new prison due to its far better conditions. He was jailed for seven years for molesting a five year old child after being transferred from HMP Whatton. He made complaints about this new facility due to only recieving one pillow and a hard bedsheet without state pensions.
Until the next Legal Thought,
Elicia Maxwell
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