A father whose mental health has crumbled after serving 13 years in prison for stealing a mobile phone has suffered a crisis which left him smashing his own face on the floor.
Thomas White, who is languishing under an abolished indefinite jail term described as “psychological torture” by the UN, was last week moved to a prison hospital wing after he suffered the shocking episode in front of other inmates.
The father has been repeatedly denied a transfer to a secure hospital despite suffering psychosis, religious delusions and last year setting himself alight in desperation as he lost hope of being freed from his imprisonment for public protection (IPP) jail term.
His family and lawyer are calling for him to finally be moved for in-patient mental health treatment ahead of a meeting about his future after last week’s rapid deterioration which left him with a suspected broken nose and severe facial bruising.
“Thomas went into a serious psychotic episode and repeatedly smashed his face off the floor and then tried to break his own legs,” his sister Clara White told The Independent.
“He has now been placed on the in-patient hospital wing at HMP Manchester. I’m just tired of my brother’s horror stories. He doesn’t remember it. He’s very bruised, broken nose, very shaken up.”
She has described his treatment as “psychiatric abuse” as he has increasingly turned to synthetic drugs and cut off contact with his loved ones.
Ms White, who has led a four-year campaign for him to be moved to a secure hospital, added: “I am extremely worried for the welfare of my brother’s mental health. It should never have been allowed to go as far as it has. I don’t want him to succeed in killing himself.
“The Ministry of Justice could move Thomas tomorrow. I feel like I push and they push back harder. They have to put him in hospital now.”
A total of three psychiatrists have now called for White to be moved to hospital to treat his mental health conditions, with the latest on 13 February concluding he was “struggling in the prison environment” and it is likely “he is deeply frustrated and angry as a result of his predicament”.
It comes after two medical reports last year laid bare the toll of the devastating IPP jail term on the 42-year-old, warning that White’s “lengthy incarceration” was creating “impermeable barriers” to his recovery.
Dean Kingham, White’s lawyer, said it is “inhumane” to keep a man who needs hospital treatment incarcerated inside HMP Manchester, where inspectors last year raised the alarm over widespread drug use, rising violence, poor living conditions and six self-inflicted deaths in 12 months.
A crunch meeting on whether he will finally be transferred to hospital is expected to take place in mid-March.
“The British Psychological Society has recognised the psychological harm caused by the IPP sentence,” Mr Kingham, of Reece Thomas Watson told The Independent.
“Here we have a man whose condition has deteriorated day by day, year by year, being held in a prison that’s failing where the inspector in October 2024 issued an urgent notification. Somewhere he can more easily access drugs than in the community.
“For me, here we have a potential Article 3 breach of his human rights.”
Last month, The Independent revealed that four in 10 inmates who took their own lives between 2020 and 2023 were denied adequate healthcare in prison.
Ex-drug-dealer turned bishop Mick Fleming, who has written about Ms White’s battle for her brother in his new book Walk In My Shoes, said the lack of mental healthcare being provided to White is an “absolute travesty”.
“It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “The lack of rehabilitation in the prison system and the lack of quality mental healthcare is an absolute travesty.
“For me, the system itself is complicit in the torture of this man. His rights are being infringed. We hope that this can be an end to it.”
IPP jail terms, which saw offenders handed a minimum term but no maximum, were introduced by New Labour in 2005 in a bid to be tough on crime.
They were abolished following a damning ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands languishing in prison for years until they can prove to the Parole Board that they are safe for release, even for some minor crimes. At least 90 IPP prisoners have taken their own lives in prison as they lost hope of ever getting out.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “It is right that IPP sentences were abolished.
“With public protection as the number one priority, the lord chancellor is working with organisations and campaign groups to ensure appropriate action is taken to support those still serving these sentences, such as improved access to mental health support and rehabilitation programmes.”
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 jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch
