Prison governor avoids prison

Prisoner unlawfully detained after staff ignore habeas corpus order

The governor of Wandsworth Prison in London has avoided being sent to prison herself after not complying with a judge’s order to release a man who had been unlawfully detained.

Mr Justice Pepperall said that despite a “lamentable series of failings” it was “neither necessary nor proportionate to deal with the governor’s default by contempt proceedings”. The maximum penalty for contempt of court is two years’ imprisonment.

Wandsworth Prison (Google Streetview)

The governor, Katie Price, was ordered to pay the claimant’s legal costs on an indemnity basis, the highest level available.

The judge said:

There are few rights more important in a free and civilised democracy than that no one should be unlawfully detained by the state. The right not to be falsely imprisoned can be vindicated by the issue of the ancient writ of habeas corpus which requires the detained person to be produced before the court. The law clearly places the onus on the state to justify the prisoner’s continued detention and, absent proof of lawful authority, the prisoner must be released.