You reported Erwin James’s death as national news (23 January). In his 20 years of life inside and a further 20 of life outside, Jim wrote and spoke about imprisonment. Writing not in broad sweeps but through personal accounts, he detailed small acts of kindness and cruelty in dehumanising institutions.
Jim brought to public view this least visible, and most neglected, of our public services. He described the work of prisoner listeners, trained and supported by the Samaritans, and was one himself for many years – not that he said. He helped people survive incarceration, encouraged prison officers to treat everyone with dignity and respect regardless of what they had done, and inspired prison reformers inside and outside the system to keep working for change.
His death, barely a year after the death of the Guardian’s prisons correspondent, Eric Allison, is a huge loss and national news indeed.
Juliet Lyon
Former director, Prison Reform Trust
In your article about the life and death of Erwin James you reminded us why he was sent to prison for life in 1984 when he was 27. He, with others, robbed and killed two people; he described these crimes as “unforgivable” and himself as a “damaged, ignorant brute”. He was released on parole 20 years later as a different and fully rehabilitated person. He would not be treated like that today.
Recently I represented a man aged 29 who, with others, robbed and killed two people. Although it was agreed by the prosecution and judge that the fact they had not intended to kill their victims was a significant mitigating factor, current sentencing guidelines resulted in this criminal being ordered to serve at least 38 years of his life imprisonment term before he can apply for parole.
In 1984 there were 621 homicides in the UK and in 2023 there were 602, so it does not seem that our criminals are getting any more brutal, but it appears that as a society we have pretty much abandoned any thoughts of rehabilitation in favour of severe retribution. Is this progress?
Paul Keleher KC
London
I was so sorry to hear of the passing of Erwin James. He was the perfect antidote to all those who would bring back capital punishment. His columns were informative and entertaining, giving us an insight into a world few of us have encountered or would wish to. The tension in his piece about the parole board hearing that would decide on his release was on a par with any bestselling thriller writer. In a world of increasing intolerance, he will be sadly missed.
Peter Thornton
Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester
