Links to my writings on crime, punishment, prisons, rehabilitation and justice reform.
Against the death penalty, even for Axel Rudakubana
The Southport killer’s crimes were barbaric but those urging the return of capital punishment should think again.
The Spectator, January 24, 2025
Stop children from suffering when their parents go to jail
Labour MP Kerry McCarthy’s Children (Parental Imprisonment) Bill would have required the government to introduce national guidelines to support minors whose parents or guardians are incarcerated. I explained why Parliament ought to back the legislation.
The Spectator, May 22, 2024
Vulnerable children don’t belong in jail
I wrote about an HM Inspectorate of Prisons visit to Wetherby Young Offenders’ Institution which revealed that male prison officers are stripping female inmates.
The Spectator, March 5, 2024
Jailhouse rot: The horrendous state of HMP Bedford
I wrote about the inhumane conditions inside HMP Bedford and proposed that prison reform be built around five concepts: safety, capacity, dignity, effectiveness and purpose.
The Spectator, November 17, 2023
We should all care about the dire state of our prisons
I wrote about HM Chief Inspector of Prisons saying one in ten jails weren’t fit to remain open. I said that the longer we take to improve conditions, the more countries will refuse to extradite suspects to the UK.
The Spectator, September 28, 2023
Prisons aren’t working
Following Daniel Khalife’s alleged escape from HMP Wandsworth, I described the overcrowded, under-staffed situation inside the prison. I suggested that the incident demonstrated how over-reliance on prison makes the public less safe.
The Spectator, September 12, 2023
Locking up shoplifters won’t solve Britain’s crime problem
I argued against transport minister Richard Holden’s call to imprison repeat shoplifters.
The Spectator, August 3, 2023
The problem with prison
I defended Sir John Major from Tory critics after he called on the government to ditch short sentences. I said we should go further and consider our overall attitude to prisons.
The Spectator, May 15, 2023
A modest proposal for the death penalty
My response to Conservative MP Lee Anderson’s endorsement of hanging.
The Spectator, February 11, 2023
Women prisoners are being let down
After a damning HM Inspectorate of Prisons report on HMP Eastwood Park, I wrote about the conditions inside this Gloucestershire women’s prison and argued that custody needed to be safer and more humane.
The Spectator, February 3, 2023
Progressives are right about our rotten prisons
Following the publication of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s report into mental health support in Scottish prisons, I made the case that, as much as is feasible, offenders suffering serious mental health problems should not be placed in jail.
The Spectator, May 2, 2022
Lock them up? Not in Sturgeon’s Scotland
I wrote about the Scottish Government’s progressive criminal justice policies and opined that they were ‘moderate, thoughtful and balanced’ — and unthinkable at Westminster.
The Spectator, February 9, 2022
Scottish Tories are wrong to oppose voting for prisoners
I defended the Scottish Government’s decision to allow (some) people in prison to vote in Scottish parliamentary elections.
The Spectator, February 22, 2021
Jabs for jailbirds: why prisoners should skip the vaccine queue
In the early days of the Covid-19 vaccine programme, I proposed that, given the conditions in prisons and the high levels of ill-health, prisoners should be one of the prioritised groups.
The Spectator, January 14, 2021
The death penalty is red tape threaded into a noose
Here I argued against the Trump administration’s decision to resume federal executions and maintained that conservatives should oppose capital punishment on conservative grounds.
The Spectator (US edition), July 29, 2019
The year my uncle was murdered I learned that true evil existed
A personal piece about losing someone close to me, the impact murder has on the victim’s family, and a potential model for a prison system the releases offenders as skilled, rehabilitated people ready to rebuild their lives.
Scottish Daily Mail, June 11, 2018
Israel’s revival of the death penalty would be a grave mistake
A dissent from plans to introduce a death penalty for terrorists in Israel.
The Spectator, January 9, 2018
Stephen Daisley 