At the age of 14 Ben Gunn killed his friend after an argument. Both boys came from troubled backgrounds and were in care at the time. He was given a life sentence “at Her Majesty’s Pleasure” with a tariff (minimum term) of ten years. The sentence reflected his age and the remorse he had shown. Because of his peaceful fight against abuses of power in the the prison service, and despite no further acts of violence, he is still incarcerated: Ben will be 45 this year.
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20 years after the judge’s ‘tariff’ expired, Ben is still in prison. To find out why, we must examine the prison service’s requirement that inmates show ‘compliance’ to prison rules before they can be released.The logic goes that, a person who does not follow prison rules is unlikely to to follow the laws on the outside. On the surface, this is a sensible notion, however, the rules are often arcane and illogical and those who enforce them often abuse their power. Not suprisingly, some prisoners challenge both the rules and the abusers; Ben is such a person.
Throughout his long internment, Ben has consistently challenged the abuses of power he has seen; he has done so in a peaceful and highly articulate manner. 15 years into his sentence, The Parole Board recommended he be moved to an open prison (the first stage in the release process). The then home secretary refused to accept the recommendation. Over the next ten years, The Parole Board recommended open conditions four times, but Ben remained in a closed prison. Finally, in 2005, Ben made it to an open jail. Sadly, a combination of external circumstances, bad timing and Ben’s refusal to conform to senseless rules, saw him returned to a closed prison, Shepton Mallet, where he remains to this day. Here is the whole story of Ben’s imprisonment in his own words.
Ben’s barrister, Flo Krause, has this to say about him:
There is NOTHING in any of his papers which remotely indicates that Ben would pose a risk to the public if released; but Ben is a peaceful activist. He is a fighter and a subversive thinker. He would not hurt anyone (and as far as I can ascertain, this has been the position for over 20 years) but he will speak out and refuse to be silenced. This is seen as unacceptable and the system punishes him.
Ben has sought to empower himself through education and is currently engaged in research towards a PhD in Human Needs Theory in Prison Conflicts. We are shocked and appalled by the continued imprisonment- at huge cost to taxpayers – of a man who has repeatedly shown himself to have repaid his debt to society and to be ready to take an active and valuable role on the outside. We are not alone; Lord Ramsbotham (former Chief Inspector of Prisons) has said keeping Ben inside serves no purpose and the continued imprisonment of him and others like him contributes to prison overcrowding, while Eric Allison (The Guardian’s prison correspondent) compared Ben’s treatment to that of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson who were released after serving only 8 years.
We believe that the time has come for Ben to be released. Not just sent to open prison for another two years, as is the unnecessary standard, but released into the care of his Circle of Support and Accountability who are ready and waiting to help him adjust to his new life. The Circle of Support (CoS) protocol was imported from Canada where is was developed in response to high risk sex offenders being released without supervision. Each Circle comprises volunteers from the local community, plus the ex con (the ‘core member’). The central idea is that the Circle protects the community from the ex con, whilst protecting the ex con from the community. Broad, yet very tailored, support is given to the ex con in order that he can safely reintegrate into the community. The Circle also challenges the ex con should he begin to slip in any way. Hence ‘support’ and ‘accountability’. For more information please see the FAQs.
It has been shown on countless occasions that well known prisoners with the weight of public opinion behind them are released more quickly. Please join the likes of Lord Ramsbotham and Eric Allison in calling for not only Ben’s release but an investigation into the scores of other prisoners kept inside long after the expiration of their tariffs and at no benefit to the themselves or to our society.
Become a fan of this page today and spread the word to show those in power that it is time to FREE PRISONER BEN.
