On this page, we present insights on some of the main implications of our ten-country research, all commissioned from leading experts in these jurisdictions. These short, accessible pieces alert us to worrying developments, engage with thorny policy dilemmas, and shine a path to lasting change.
Throughout June 2021, over 20 specially commissioned pieces of content will be released, all dealing with specific aspects of over-incarceration.
In this piece, Olivia Rope, Executive Director of Penal Reform International (PRI), discusses life sentences, a key priority area for PRI. PRI has highlighted the problematic use of life sentences for many years, in relation to their use as an alternative to the death penalty, and more recently through our work with the University of Nottingham to bring international attention - including from the United Nations - to the need for reform in view of increasing use of the sentence. A key publication on the topic is their 2018 policy briefing on life imprisonment.
A discussion about rights under threat and the consequences for women, people of colour, and marginalised groups, with Isabel Roby, legal and policy officer, Fair Trials (Latin America) and Hugo Leonardo, president of the Brazilian defence lawyers’ network, Instituto de Defesa do Direito de Defesa.
Laure Baudrihaye-Gérard, European legal director of Fair Trials, a worldwide criminal justice watchdog, and Diana Riba i Giner MEP (Greens/EFA), discuss the potential normalisation of digital hearings in the wake of the pandemic, and the importance of research evidence in creating solutions to end over-use of pre-trial detention.
Saskia Bricmont has been a member of the Greens and the European Free Alliance (EFA) at the European Parliament since May 2019. She advocates for an open, altruistic and tolerant society and supports those who fight for democracy, human rights and social justice. Here, Saskia discusses a possible binding European framework for minimum standards on places of detention.
Maïté De Rue is Legal Adviser to the Open Society Justice Initiative and Former 1st Vice-President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). Here, Maïté discusses the overuse of pre-trial detention in Europe and its consequences.
Jago Russell is Chief Executive of the human rights non-profit, Fair Trials. Before joining Fair Trials, he worked as a policy specialist at the human rights charity Liberty and as a Legal Specialist in the UK Parliament. Jago is a lawyer and has published and lectured widely on a range of criminal justice and human rights issues. Here, Jago discusses the need for people and their basic rights to be front and centre in all pretrial decisions.
Madhurima Dhanuka is the Programme Head of Prison Reforms, Access to Justice Programme at the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in India. Here, Madhurima discusses the impact of remote hearings on fair trials.
Gilbert Mitullah Omware is a pro bono criminal defence lawyer and a researcher focusing on the right to legal aid. He presently serves as the Managing Partner for Mitullah, Shako and Associates Advocates LLP. Here, Gilbert discusses the risks Kenya’s indigent defendants face of being unjustly detained pre-trial and pressured into accepting plea deals.