Reform’s Richard Tice will introduce a bill to Parliament tomorrow that would allow the general public a say over individual prisoner sentences to avoid miscarriages of justice like Lucy Connolly. Ms Connolly remains in prison over a single tweet during the Southport riots last year, for which she was slapped with a lengthy 31-month sentence.
The judges who locked up the mother said the sentence was fair and reasonable, despite serious criminals getting early release amid the ongoing prison space crisis.
Mr Tice has said he will now introduce ‘Lucy’s Bill’ to the Commons tomorrow as a 10-minute rule motion, explaining it would allow Britons to petition for a review of individual sentences they believe are either too harsh or too lenient. Speaking about his new Bill, Mr Tice revealed he visited Ms Connolly in prison today and said there is evidence of her being abused by prison officers.
He said: “I visited Lucy Connolly in prison on Tuesday (24th June), and whilst she appears to be a model prisoner, generally, with good conditions, I was very concerned that last Thursday, for no apparent reason, she was brutally forced to the ground by many prison officers, tightly handcuffed and then dragged up three flights of stairs.
“The bruising is still significant five days on. She was then put on a totally inappropriate wing for her situation. Lucy has not been granted any rights to temporary leave on compassionate grounds, and regrettably, she is the victim of political intervention in our justice system.
“Lucy’s Bill has arisen because of the two-tier justice that now exists in the United Kingdom. This has made Lucy Connolly a political prisoner.
“Whilst not interfering with the judicial system or the judgement, in cases of clearly wrong sentencing, following on from a judgement, having a triple-check sanity review mechanism, triggered by 500 members of the public of any sentence passed, is a sensible safeguard.”
Meanwhile Mr Tice has the support of James Bogle, a barrister of 10 King’s Bench Walk, who said that Ms Connolly’s incarceration is risking bringing the entire criminal justice system into “serious disrepute”.
Mr Bogle said: “The sentence in the case of Lucy Connolly was manifestly excessive. The maximum sentence for affray and violent disorder are less than the maximum for Lucy’s offence. That is irrational. Perpetrators of far more serious crimes have been given much lower sentences than Lucy.
“Worse, hers was described as being at the more serious end of the scale as if she had been out in the streets actively encouraging a mob to threaten life rather than sending a mere tweet.”
Following the quashing of her appeal in May, Ms Connolly condemned the three judges who dismissed the case as “cruel and twisted”.
During the summer riots last year, Ms Connolly posted on X: “Mass deportations now, set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the b******s for all I care, while you’re at it take the treacherous government and politicians with them.” The post had 310,000 views before it was deleted.