The proposed government review comes weeks after the United Nations described the continuation of IPP sentences as “perpetuating serious human rights violations”.
According to the human rights body, nearly all unreleased IPP prisoners have reportedly served beyond their original tariff periods, while almost 75% have spent more than a decade in prison beyond the punishment originally considered necessary by the sentencing court.
Clara who said she has spent years campaigning with other families of IPP prisoners for a retrospective abolition of IPP sentences said she “will not give up” and hopes the proposed review will lead to an abolition of IPPs “once and for all”.
“Nobody until today has really looked at IPP sentences,” she said.
“When I heard the news of the review, I felt whole.
“My family, and other families have been met with darkness during our campaigning and that is very painful.
“But today I’ve seen light, which was really lovely to hold on to.”
She added: “There is now a chance to go that extra mile and abolish IPPs retrospectively once and for all.”