Lawyer Jasmine Moxey-Butler looks at claiming parole delay compensation
Parole delay has been in the news, with our under resourced parole board system being heavily criticised for serious delays. When someone is the victim of parole board delay they may be entitled to claim compensation. The amount of compensation is assessed on a case by case basis and will depend on a number of factors, such as whether it is likely that a prisoner would have been released earlier if there had been no delay.
We have recently recovered substantial parole delay compensation for a client.
He had been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in September 2012. It was a determinate sentence so he should have been considered for parole after having served 5 years, less time served on remand.
He became eligible for parole in April 2017, but it was not actioned. From that date onwards he raised issues with the prison over why his parole had not been dealt with.
In September 2017 an officer visited him in his cell to confirm he would be released later that day. When he queried this he was advised that he was to be released immediately.
Upon release from prison he called our Free Legal Helpline and we agreed to take on his case, working on a No Win, No Fee basis.
We brought a parole delay compensation claim on his behalf, arguing that the prison had made a mistake in calculating his sentence and as a result he had been unlawfully detained.
We referred to Article 5 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1953) which states:
“1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:
- The lawful detention of a person after conviction by a competent court;…
And
- Everyone who has been the victim of arrest or detention in contravention of the provisions of this article shall have an enforceable right to compensation”
The claim was successful and we recovered compensation for his loss of liberty and added stress.
