'Dying on the Inside' published

In 2008, INQUEST published INQUEST Dying on the Inside: Examining Women’s Deaths in Prison.

Marissa Sandler and Deborah Coles examined INQUEST’s casework on 115 women who died in prison from 1990-2007. The report made three overarching recommendations for the abolition of prison as the central response to women in the criminal justice system, instead using radical community-based alternatives.

The seven parts include:

1. Trends, facts and figures
2. The decision to imprison
3. Dying inside
4. The experiences of the bereaved
5. After a death – implementing change following a death in custody
6. Conclusions and recommendations

Here’s an excerpt from Deborah Coles’s preface:

In looking at the history of women’s imprisonment it is deplorable that the same issues of concern which were apparent in the 1980s are as prevalent today as they were then. This ongoing abuse of human rights requires a fundamental rethink of the way women are dealt with by the criminal justice system. Abolition of prison for women and investment in radical community-based alternatives should be prioritised if the needless deaths of women in prison are to be avoided. Addressing the complex reasons behind why women enter the criminal justice system – poverty and social inequality – should also be a priority.

Click below to download the full report.