British prisons are inhumane and do not prevent crime – most of them should go | Simon Jenkins

If you want to prevent reoffending, you shouldn’t lock people up. Where is the politician brave enough to admit this?

For the past four months, two-thirds of Britain’s prisoners have been in quasi-solitary confinement, locked in cells for at least 23 hours a day. According to the Prison Reform Trust, evidence indicates this does permanent mental health damage. At this point, prison becomes a life sentence. On any basis, it is barbaric.

Britain’s prison record is currently, like its public health ...