Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 22/07/2025Goodbye Ozzy. Very glad you got to experience the best of send-offs. Here you are, singing from on high, courtesy of the very wonderful @coldwarsteve.bsky.social 060
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 19/05/2025Quite unusual to see a civil servant explicitly blaming the last government: “This data breach was made possible by the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last government….” www.theguardian.com/law/2025/may...theguardian.comLegal aid hack: data from hundreds of thousands of people accessed, says MoJData including criminal records downloaded in ‘significant’ cyber-attack at Legal Aid Agency in April, ministry confirms 030
Reposted by Andrew SperlingEmma McClure @emma-mcclure.bsky.social · 25/04/2025Had an excellent morning running laps at HMP Brixton for @prtuk.bsky.social with @sperls.bsky.social and residents. There is still time to leave our fundraising on a nice satisfying round number... justgiving.com/page/thebrix... 021
Reposted by Andrew SperlingEmma McClure @emma-mcclure.bsky.social · 21/04/2025#medalmonday Two fifty milers down for 2025. Three to go! Next up though is half marathon at HMP Brixton for @prtuk.bsky.social This will be @sperls.bsky.social first half and we are only £55 away from our target. Can you help? ☺️ justgiving.com/page/thebrix... 021
Reposted by Andrew SperlingSean Jones KC @seanjones.org · 19/04/2025The state alleging that someone is a criminal is not a justification for denying them due process, it’s what creates the need for it. 537472
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 19/04/2025A half marathon is a marathon to me. I’m a short bloke who has never run that far. 010
Reposted by Andrew SperlingAndrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 18/03/2025I am less keen on the endless loops. This will be further than I have ever run before (unlike Emma who basically runs the earth most weeks). Any donation, however small (or large) will be very welcome. Please also suggest a suitably themed song for our combined running playlist… 032
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 09/04/2025Congratulations to @laurajanes.bsky.social for her appointment as the new Chair of @prisonlawyersapl.bsky.social. Pretty disgraceful that it has taken over 15 years to get the first female Chair of APL but Laura always has been a trailblazer. 032
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 21/03/2025They are nearly all refusals to allow an oral hearing. There is very clear Supreme Court authority on this which is why they lose nearly all of these. They take a neutral position on these and as a result waste lots of court time and money. They should be paying the costs of these applications. 000
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 21/03/2025Interesting to see Mr Yaxley-Lennon aka Tommy Robinson is a recent convert to the idea of human rights. The article 3 claim was quite ambitious. If anyone wants an enjoyable lunchtime read and can tell me how I attach a file on here I’ll happily post the judgment 030
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 18/03/2025I am less keen on the endless loops. This will be further than I have ever run before (unlike Emma who basically runs the earth most weeks). Any donation, however small (or large) will be very welcome. Please also suggest a suitably themed song for our combined running playlist… 032
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 16/03/2025This is another perspective on recalls. My brilliant colleague Catherine was interviewed for this piece about her client, Andy, who talks about being a ghost for two decades: news.sky.com/story/ive-be...news.sky.comAbolished indefinite prison sentences still in place - despite prisoner numbers approaching pre-release scheme levelsImprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences were introduced in 2005 and abolished in 2012. But the law wasn't backdated, so thousands are still behind bars. 010
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 16/03/2025These are cases in which people have been returned to prison without any kind of judicial oversight. They are recalled administratively by the probation service. Several probation officers misapply the legal test and recall unnecessarily. This has a significant impact on the prison population 110
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 16/03/2025There is much more to this story than the ‘alarm’ angle and the perspective of the unidentified probation officer. This new policy is actually delaying Parole Board reviews because there is now a backlog of cases awaiting review by MOJ officials. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...theguardian.comAlarm over early re-release of recalled prisoners as jail overcrowding crisis deepensWhistleblower says over 1,000 inmates in England and Wales considered for the scheme which bypasses Parole Board 121
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 18/02/2025Absolutely gutted about Rick Buckler. His drumming on Funeral Pyre is utterly magnificent. Check this out m.youtube.com/watch?v=Endq...m.youtube.comThe Jam - Funeral PyreYouTube video by TheJamVEVO 020
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 16/02/2025This week was an important one for some people serving IPP sentences. Blog postgbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.comThe Long, Long Road to FreedomThis month marked an important milestone for a few hundred people serving IPP (imprisonment for public protection) sentences who have been released from prison and are on licence in the community. A c... 010
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 08/02/2025The ultimate narcissist has succeeded in having everyone talk about, write about, read about and listen about him day in and day out. His ratings are GREAT. 010
Reposted by Andrew SperlingMehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 07/02/2025For those who continue to deny that Trump and the MAGA GOP's objection to asylum-seekers and refugees isn't racist, check out which group, out of all the conflicts on earth, Trump has made a very special refugee resettlement for. Yep. White South Africans. Beyond parody. 1242378695
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025This month marks two years since he was released again. We have made submissions to the Parole Board arguing that his sentence should finally come to an end. His nightmare may soon be over. For hundreds and hundreds of others, the pain and trauma of the IPP sentence carries on. ENDS 010
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025He was recalled to prison less than a week later. It took 15 months for the Parole Board to review his case. When they finally arranged a hearing for him, they concluded that he should never have been recalled in the first place. 110
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025Some of our clients are now waiting anxiously to hear if they will finally be freed from this wretched sentence. One of these was sentenced 20 years ago in the first wave of IPP sentences. His tariff (minimum term) was less than two years. He served over 16 years before his first release. 100
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025This week the Ministry of Justice has begun referring hundreds of IPP cases to the Parole Board for consideration of termination of their licence. Instead of waiting 10 years for this opportunity, IPP prisoners now have their cases referred to the Parole Board three years after their first release 100
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025My colleague Emma has written about Matthew Price - for whom the change in the law came too late. www.sl5legal.co.uk/single-post/...sl5legal.co.ukIrredeemably flawed? The IPP prisoner scandal and the death of Matthew PriceWarning – this article contains distressing content. I have used Matthew’s own words because he wrote publicly and he wanted people to understand the pain of the IPP sentence.My name is Emma McClure. ... 101
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025The threat of and reality of recall can be devastating for IPP prisoners. It can prevent them getting on with their lives. For some, the torment of this can be intolerable. Matthew Price was one of these. 100
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025Recalled prisoners usually have to wait many months for their detention to be reviewed by the Parole Board. The Justice Select Committee reported on the shocking delays to these reviews over two years ago. Things have not really improved since then. committees.parliament.uk/publications...committees.parliament.uk 100
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025Although it involves people losing their liberty, recall to prison is not a judicial decision - it is an administrative process. It is activated by the Probation Service and effectively rubber-stamped by civil servants in the Ministry of Justice. 100
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025People are recalled for breaches of licence. This does not mean that they have reoffended. It can be that they have missed curfews or supervision appointments, relapsed into substance abuse, lost their accommodation. 100
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025The IPP sentence is indefinite - it can last forever. Despite the fact that an IPP prisoner may have been released from custody, they remain at risk of being recalled to prison at any time. 100
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 03/02/2025This week marks an important milestone for a few hundred people serving IPP sentences. A change in the law implemented by the Victims and Prisoners Act reduces the period that IPP prisoners have to wait before they can apply for their licences to be terminated. A brief explainer thread… 131
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 24/01/2025This is essential reading and viewing for anyone who has wilfully or otherwise airbrushed the events of January 6th 2021 and thinks that Trump pardoning the rioters is normal. Recommended listening also - the excellent podcast series by @restispoliticsus.bsky.social on January 6th. 000
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 19/01/2025Really hoping that you won’t actually need to drag me 110
Reposted by Andrew SperlingDr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 17/01/2025Oh come ON now. This new JWST image is just ASTOUNDING. I feel like I’m falling looking into it, and that I would fall forever, and that I would enjoy it. NASA, ESA, CSA, K. McQuinn (STScI), J. DePasquale (STScI) 582486698
Reposted by Andrew SperlingAnton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 18/01/2025German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock left the government meeting, refusing to be photographed with Chancellor Olaf Scholz after his decision to block the allocation of a new aid package for Ukraine, - Bild. Instead of a thousand words. 1453811955
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 16/01/2025Hoping that I manage to have a fine Lynch tribute dream tonight. But nothing too terrifying. I’m not up for a visit from Frank or Bob. 010
Reposted by Andrew Sperlingdavid ehrlich @davidehrlich.bsky.social · 16/01/2025David Lynch gave us the language we needed to better articulate the indescribable strangeness of our shared reality. “Lynchian” is so overused because it’s a viscerally understandable word without any known synonyms. I can’t imagine a more beautiful artistic legacy than that. 109135832514
Reposted by Andrew SperlingMare Pan @paarsec.com · 16/01/2025One of my favourite things anyone has ever said about art. You'll be missed, David. 🌹 26110583562
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 16/01/2025I absolutely loved David Lynch. He changed the way I look at life. And made me laugh a lot. It’s hard to believe that there won’t be any more of his wonderful imagination and creativity in the world. 010
Reposted by Andrew SperlingFrances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 31/12/2024Throughout 2024, the Guardian aimed to report on every woman allegedly killed by a man. Here are the 80 women whose deaths have led to a man being charged. Let us say their names. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-i...theguardian.comKilled women count: 80 women allegedly killed by men in UK in 2024Throughout the year the Guardian aimed to report on every woman whose death has led to a man being charged 411672
Andrew Sperling @sperls.bsky.social · 18/12/2024This is such a distressing read. Yet another IPP prisoner losing their life in prison. It’s an important finding that the delays to his parole hearing contributed to his mental distress. Parole delays have had a devastating impact on many people. www.theguardian.com/society/2024...theguardian.comDelays and neglect led to death of prisoner serving IPP sentence, jury findsInquest concludes that Haydar Jefferies took his own life after Surrey prison’s ‘serious failure’ to put him in place of safety 043
