It’s (almost) Taylor’s Birthday and, after waiting 6 months since his parole hearing, Taylor will soon also get Release on Temporary Licence (ROTLs).
This means, after almost fifteen years, Taylor will be able to spend time with his loved ones outside of prison. He will also be able to start the process of accessing gender affirming top surgery to which he has been denied access by HMP for over a decade.
We have organised this fundraiser because Taylor has already waited too long to access life changing surgery: we want to get the funds together for Taylor to be seen privately and to cover the costs of aftercare.
This Pride month, please support Taylor by making a contribution & send him a birthday card: Claire Taylor A7974AX, HMP Eastwood Park, Falfield, GL12 8DB
Background:
Taylor is a trans-masc on an IPP sentence (Imprisonment for Public Protection). IPP sentences are indefinite: a minimum number of years (known as a “tariff”) must be spent inside prison before being eligible for a parole hearing, that can lead to release on licence. IPPs come with a 99 year licence – a life sentence – where probation can recall them indefinitely to prison with little explanation.
Parole hearings are meant to take place every two years, however, due to the dense bureaucracy that rules in HMP this does not happen in practice. Parole boards make demands for IPPs to jump through impossible hoops or expect them to achieve goals where the posts are always moved away. They may be required to complete courses that are unavailable in the prison, or undertake counselling then criticized for the trauma disclosed.
A decade over tariff, Taylor was told in January to prove himself in open conditions by the Parole board, but he has been refused a transfer to open conditions by HMP.
These cruel sentences were abolished in 2012 but this was not implemented retrospectively, so Taylor alongside thousands of others still languish in prison.
Free Taylor! Smash IPP! Fuck HMP!
