The rights of children whose parents are in conflict with the law
It may well have been a proportionate response to stop physical visits on the 23rd March in the light of the public health crisis, but the total removal of the right to family life through contact with their parent, of every child with a parent in prison, extending now for 100+ days, seems to be neither reasonable nor proportionate.
Many people in our prisons do not need to be punished by imprisonment. Their crimes are neither so serious nor so dangerous that prison is the only possible punishment. 1 in 10 people in prison hasn’t been convicted of any crime & is on remand. By continuing to hold these people in prison during the pandemic the government risks their lives and the wellbeing of their families on the outside.
Dr Shona Minson 