‘Just in case I die, IPP killed me’: The harrowing warning of prisoner trapped on indefinite jail term

‘Just in case I die, IPP killed me’: The harrowing warning of prisoner trapped on indefinite jail term Exclusive: Over-tariff IPP prisoners have resorted to horrifying acts of self-harm, including Wayne Gregory, who has mutilated his own face, and Carl Lamb, who cut off his own ear, as Amy Clare-Martin reports - Bookmark Inside a cell at on a wing for vulnerable inmates in Lancashire, Wayne Gregory left a message smeared in blood on the wall for the prison officers who found him: “Just in case I die, IPP killed me.” He had also hidden a note written in biro on his upper thigh for those who examined him at the morgue, begging the coroner to investigate his detention on an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence. Although he survived, the disturbing incident was just one of a series of horrifying acts of self-harm which have marked the latter half of his 19 years trapped on an indefinite jail term with no release date in sight. His face and body, now irrevocably scarred by serious injuries which he regularly reopens, are evidence of the devastating toll the uncertain punishment has taken on him. He is one of almost 2,300 IPP prisoners still languishing on the open-ended jail terms, which were scrapped in 2012 and have been which has been described as “psychological torture” by the United Nations. Hundreds like Gregory have unravelled during the punishment, including Carl Lamb, who cut off his own ear, and Thomas White, who set himself alight in desperation. At least 96 prisoners have taken their own lives in despair. Last month, the prime minister announced he would finally end the injustice of the IPP sentence before the end of this parliament, bringing hope to thousands of such prisoners for the first time in two decades. However, details of how the scandal will be addressed, including how complex inmates will be supported towards release, have not yet been decided. Gregory, currently held at medium security HMP Garth, said he was “happy” at the news and the “end is in sight”, but revealed he was still struggling after years of self-harming. When he was jailed in 2007, Gregory was told he must serve a minimum of two years and 275 days for a violent and serious attack he carried out with his brother, who was also handed an IPP sentence with the same tariff. But while his brother was freed eight years ago and has rebuilt his life in the community, Gregory – whose anxiety means he struggles to complete the rehabilitative prison courses needed to secure his release by the parole board – has been left to languish. His feelings of despair and frustration have spiralled into a devastating cycle of self-harm and destructive behaviour, which have prevented him from passing the parole board’s release test. Now aged 42, he is battling to earn a place at a secure hospital where he hopes to start recovering, but, shockingly, he has been told he cannot be transferred to the medium secure unit until he stops self-harming. “My brother has been released… and fitted back into society with no issues and started a family, whereas I’m covered in scars, frustrated, angry, institutionalised and suffering from crippling anxiety of groups of people developed over this sentence,” he told The Independent. He said he turned to increasingly extreme self-harm as a “direct result” of the jail term. Gregory grew up in multiple care homes and foster placements before getting into trouble with the law as a teenager, receiving his first conviction at 15, before he was eventually handed an IPP sentence for wounding with intent in a joint attack on an extended family member when he was 23. Both he and his brother were refused parole at their first hearing in 2011, but two years later his brother progressed to a Category D open prison while he was told to do more courses. “I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t progress when my brother had, even though I was trying my hardest to complete anything asked of me,” he explained. He first mutilated his own face in 2015, in what he describes as a “major cry for help”, which saw him inflict a serious wound to the right side of his mouth and cheek. He warned staff at the prison he was going to start “chopping myself to bits” before he inflicted the wound, telling them: “It feels like I'm never ever gonna get out of this. So why do I give a s*** what I look like now? Nobody's gonna see me anyway.” “I honestly felt at this point that I was in an endless pit of despair and I was telling everyone this,” he added. Around a year later, he caused a similar injury to the left side of his face, having failed to complete a three-year course due to his struggles with group therapy. He believes his anxiety during group courses has seriously hampered his ability to progress in prison, adding that although officials know he needs one-to-one support, he has been told there are no resources to provide this. Although he was briefly transferred to an open prison at HMP Leyhill in 2023, he was returned to a closed prison within a matter of weeks after he self-harmed again. In 2024, he was considered for a placement in a 15-bed registered care home for men with complex needs, including substance misuse issues and mental health challenges. However, this offer was withdrawn shortly before his parole hearing after Gregory started speaking out about his IPP sentence and first made contact with The Independent. According to documents in his parole dossier, the option of placement at the site operated by the Langley Trust was withdrawn because of the risk of negative publicity. A spokesperson for the Langley Trust said: “We are unable to confirm or deny any connection with any named individuals, as we are required by law to protect our clients' information.” Gregory is now hoping to join a major habeas corpus legal challenge brought against the government after the United Nations found a number of over-tariff IPP prisoners are being arbitrarily detained under international human rights law. Gregory pleaded “when will it end”, adding: “I just cannot live like this.” Other prisoners have resorted to extremes, including Carl Lamb, who cut off his own ear with a razor blade in front of a prison officer in protest at his IPP sentence. He was jailed with a tariff of one year, seven months and 25 days in 2006 for grievous bodily harm with intent following a road rage incident when he was 26. Now 46, he has never been released. His brother Danny Eggar, 38, said he had watched his mental health severely deteriorate over the last decade, including some shocking acts of self harm and inflicting the injury to his ear in 2020. “For me, it’s not the physical scars, it’s what it’s done to him mentally,” he told The Independent. “My brother is not the same person that I knew 10 years ago. He had his life taken away from him.” He described the uncertainty of not having a release date as “mental torture”, adding: “It’s an absolutely inhumane prison sentence.” Lamb, currently held at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, said he feels hopeful for the first time in “many years” after hearing the prime minister’s pledge to finally end the injustice. He told The Independent: “A lot of people suffered deeply because of this sentence. I've been around seen many prisoners in dark places – the suffering really can’t go on. What a joy it would be if the sentence was ended for people.” The Independent previously revealed how Thomas White, who has served more than 14 years for stealing a mobile phone, set himself alight and later smashed his face on the floor in desperation. His family spent six years campaigning for his transfer to a hospital after his mental health deteriorated on the jail term. However, he has now been returned to Category B HMP Gartree, without a release date, after just ten months of care. His devastated sister, pastor Clara White, called for a clear timeline for how the government will end the injustice for IPP prisoners. "My brother has served more than seven times the punishment that the court originally considered appropriate,” she said. “He is a severely unwell man who needs treatment, stability and hope. Instead, he is being sent back to prison with no release date and no certainty about what his future holds. “Andy Burnham’s pledge to resolve the IPP injustice is a welcome first step but we now need a clear timeline and plan from the government." Justice secretary Alex Norris said the government will table legislation to end the IPP sentence “once and for all” by the end of this parliament. “These are complex cases, and some of these offenders have committed serious crimes,”he told the commons last week. “Public safety will always be my top priority, and we must balance that with fairness. It will take time to get this right, but work will begin immediately, and on a cross-party basis.” A cross-party oversight group will help to guide this, including the architect of the flawed sentence, Lord David Blunkett, and former justice secretary Robert Buckland, who have both called for IPP reform. If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email [email protected], or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.