Father jailed for 13 years for stealing phone is finally transferred to hospital

"Thomas White, who is serving an abolished indefinite jail term described by the United Nations as psychological torture, developed paranoid schizophrenia and psychosis in prison as he lost hope of being freed from his Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence. Last year, The Independent revealed how he had set himself on fire in his cell as this newspaper backed his family in their six-year battle for him to be transferred for inpatient mental health treatment."

"In March, we revealed how he had he had suffered yet another mental health crisis, in which he repeatedly smashed his face on the floor of maximum-security HMP Manchester, where he was being held. This week, the 42-year-old father of one finally arrived at a specialist medium-secure unit in Northumberland where his family hopes he will finally get the help he needs three months after he was approved for the transfer."

"IPP sentences were scrapped in 2012 following a damning ruling from the European Court of Human Rights, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands of inmates trapped in jail for years beyond their original prison terms. White, who had previous convictions for theft, was handed an IPP sentence with a two-year tariff for robbery just four months before the sentences were outlawed."

Thomas White served 13 years under an abolished indefinite Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence and developed paranoid schizophrenia and psychosis while incarcerated. He suffered multiple severe mental health crises, including setting himself on fire in his cell and repeatedly smashing his face on the floor of a maximum-security prison. He was ultimately approved for transfer and arrived at a specialist medium-secure unit in Northumberland three months after approval. IPP sentences were scrapped in 2012 but not applied retrospectively, leaving many inmates trapped beyond original terms. White had previous theft convictions and received the IPP shortly before the sentences were outlawed.

Read at www.independent.co.uk