Incarceration clock updated

October 23, 2005

The incarceration clock and the "Incarceration is not an equal opportunity punishment" facts on the home page have been updated with the most current numbers from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

European Court says UK prisoners have right to vote, cites human rights treaty

October 6, 2005

"UK prisoners should get vote, European court rules

"Simon Jeffery
"Thursday October 6, 2005

"Laws setting out who can and cannot take part in elections are to be rewritten after the European court of human rights today ruled in favour of giving British prisoners the right to vote.

"Ruling in the case of a former prisoner against the United Kingdom, the Strasbourg court said the disenfranchisement of 48,000 convicts in British jails violated the European convention on human rights.

"It said that with the exception of the right to liberty, lawfully detained prisoners continued to enjoy all the rights guaranteed in the convention - including political rights and freedom from inhumane and degrading punishment." ....

See the full story on the Guardian website.

Thank you to Rick Lines at the Irish Penal Reform Trust for the heads up about this exciting news.