In letters to the programme, Ward said he was “rotting” in the system. According to the BBC, his case has not been reviewed for two years, and because of a lack of psychiatric assessment he might have to wait another year for a parole board hearing.

“I find prison hard to cope with, being trapped in a box,” Ward wrote. “Prison is not fit to accommodate people like me with mental health problems. It’s made me worse. How can I change in a place like this? I wake up every morning scared of what the day may hold.”

One of the (many) big problems with that whole idea all along, AFAICT. His case is not unusual. Take people with often acknowledged mental health problems, lock them up in a destabilizing environment, and then refuse to let them out again until/unless they essentially stop showing obvious signs of those same mental health problems 🤔

I mean, people not directly affected tend to get more worked up when it does involve the prison system. That shouldn’t happen to anyone. And it’s disturbing that no provisions have been made to end the existing indefinite sentences.

Ken Clarke: ‘absurd’ that defunct prison scheme still keeps people in jail