AUGUST NEWS!!
Theft of 17 years of my Life
Hello again Readers,
I hope you all were not too disappointed after last months appeal was refused, like I said it was to be expected.
Okay! Regarding our next step My ‘Application to the House of Lords to Certify a Point of Law’ which has now been lodged with the court. Now the court need to grant me permission to pursue this matter to a full hearing in the House of Lords. I can expect to wait for a decision on that permission approximately 1 – 2 months. Always the waiting game readers, if prison teaches you anything it teaches you patience. I’ am always waiting on something or another.
As I said in last months newsletter the 33 page Judgment was long winded to say the least and full of legal jargon almost impossible to understand half the time.
Here in brief is the courts decision on each of the three points put forward. (All articles of the European Court of Human Rights)
Article 5/6 (Unfair trial):- Whilst the High Court accepted my Thai trial had breached Article 6, they did not consider my case reached the very high “flagrant denial of Justice” test which it must meet in order for the UK’s enforcement of the sentence arising from the conviction to be arbitrary and thus breach Article 5.
Article 5 (Adeola):-The court considered that there was no merit in this argument because the situation had only arisen as a result of the way England deals with prisoners with life sentences i.e. imposing a tariff. The court considered that it was a more severe sentence to be subjected to a life sentence than a determinate sentence.
Article 3 (Inhuman and degrading treat/punishment):- Unfortunately because the EU court has never held that a determinate sentence constitutes inhuman and degrading punishment, the High Court did not consider that my determinate sentence breached Article 3.
Alright enough of that!
Let’s continue with the Book Theme with:-
An incredible story of a Englishman?, who spend 17 years imprisoned in
‘Send them to hell’ by Sebastian Williams
Is a horrifying authentic chronicle of Murder, human-rights abuse, drugs, blackmail, extortion, extreme violence, medical maltreatment and unjustifiable death penalties feature as everyday occurrences in the Living Hells that are Bangkwang and Klong Prem Jails.
Gerad McGrath now marvels at a remarkable example of human resilience in the face of inhumane treatment.
When I saw the publisher's flyer on this book, I admit that I was not too enthusiastic about the prospect of reviewing what I thought would be yet another tale of woe by some prisoner(s) bemoaning the self-inflicted
consequences of nefarious activities.
I count amongst many fellow prisoners who, probably born of a sense of morbid curiosity, have read a number of these tales of which few (if any at all) have engendered anything other than a feeling of relief in reaching the final page. Read one, you've read them all. So, contrary to my somewhat cynical expectation, I initially found myself mildly surprised in being inexorably drawn into ‘Send them to Hell’ chapter by chapter and my feelings burgeoning. The feelings to which I allude ranged from incredulity to sadness, through outrage to anger. Take heed, this is definitely not a 'feel good' book, at least not as I experienced it. However, it is definitely educative in more ways than one.
There will be nothing new to readers of this genre of book in reading the vivid descriptions of conditions in the hellholes of Thailand's Klon Prem and Bangkwang prisons as contained in the pages of Send them to Hell. Sadly, all too many countries do not seem to subscribe to the view that one measure of a so-called civilized society is the manner in which prisoners of the state are treated. If only a fifth of what Sly experienced is the truth, then
I readily commend Sebastian Williams for the sagacious decision he made in employing the first person singular to recount the experiences of ‘Sly’, the lead character of this salutary and profoundly disturbing story. The astute use of the first person singular precludes the need for any reader to be possessed of an especially fecund imagination to gain any degree of appreciation of what Sly experienced during his years of incarceration. Though by no means an original literary ploy, the use of the first person by Sebastian Williams, coupled with his narrative
skill and style, certainly allowed me to feel that I knew Sly and I was irresistibly compelled to sympathize with him.
It would take someone who has experienced comparable conditions to empathize with Sly and for all that I and many fellow prisoners have experienced some grim conditions in English prisons in my time, they are as nothing by comparison.
Many readers will have had comparable experiences to those of Sly where corrupt police, lawyers and prison warders are concerned - such are ubiquitous and the
What Sly experienced at the hands of the Thai penal system is understated by Sebastian Williams in being described as an ‘inhuman nightmare’. Again, if only a fifth is the truth the Thai penal system can only be described as a sinister autarchy. I was especially angered in reading Chapter 13, wherein Sly tells us about the 'prison rats.' He is not referring to the rodent species, rather to the human species of fellow prisoners who are vested with authority over prisoners virtually equipollent to the warders - a la 'The Stockholm Syndrome.' In
prisons we have prisoners who prey upon fellow prisoners and who, for self-gain, ingratiate themselves with staff.
It is easy enough to empathize with Sly in that experience.
I unhesitatingly recommend this book to any reader for two specific reasons. Firstly; such a horror story serves to remind us that such as the Thai penal system cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. Human Rights must become ubiquitous in deed as opposed to trite rhetoric if we are to preserve the dignity of our species.
Secondly; what Sly experienced is testimony to the remarkable capacity of human beings to survive adversity. It is also testimony to the moral courage
and strength of character with which some are possessed; enabling them to survive the likes of Klon Prem and Bangkwang prisons as others survived
Sounds like a must read readers!!
Send them to Hell by Sebastian Williams is published by Mainstream Publishing ISBN 978-1-84018-991-9 Price £9.99
Okay! That’s your lot until next month!
Happy
Steve Willcox
bravenet.com