The prison was built in 1851, when it was known as Surrey House of Correction.[3] It was designed according to the humane separate system principle with a number of corridors radiating from a central control point with each prisoner having toilet facilities. The toilets were later removed to increase prison capacity and the prisoners had to "slop out", until 1996.[4]
On 29 July 1879, Catherine Webster was executed for the murder and dismemberment of her mistress, Mrs. Thomas, at Richmond. The murder, which occurred in March, was for the purpose of stealing Mrs. Thomas' property and going to America with a man named Webb. The only witnesses to the execution were the sheriff, the surgeon and the chaplain. No reporters were permitted. The sheriff reported that Mrs. Webster met her death with dignity. The body was buried in a shallow grave on prison grounds and covered in lime.[5]
In 1951, Wandsworth was the holding prison for a national stock of the birch and the cat o' nine tails, implements for corporal punishment inflicted as a disciplinary penalty under the prison rules.[7] An example of a flogging with the "cat" carried out in Wandsworth Prison itself was reported in July 1954.[8]
On 8 July 1965, Ronnie Biggs escaped from the prison, where he was serving a 30-year sentence for his part in the Great Train Robbery. Two years later he fled to Brazil and remained on the run until 2001, when he returned to the UK.[9]
The prison was originally designed to hold less than a thousand inmates, but as of 2023, there are between 1,300 and 1,500 prisoners.[10]
Wandsworth was the site of 135 executions, between 1878 and 1961. Built in 1878, the gallows was located near the A wing.[11] In 1911, a new gallows was built between the E and F wings, and in 1938 a further gallows was built at the E wing.[11] Among those executed by hanging were:
On 25 April 1951, a double execution took place at Wandsworth, when Edward Smith and Joseph Brown stood on the gallows together and were executed simultaneously. The final executions at Wandsworth were those of Francis Forsyth on 10 November 1960, Victor John Terry on 25 May 1961 and Henryk Niemasz on 8 September 1961 (Forsyth was one of just four 18-year-olds executed in a British prison in the twentieth century).
With the exceptions of Scott-Ford, who was convicted of treachery, and Joyce and Amery, who were convicted of treason, all executions were for the crime of murder.
The gallows were kept in full working order until 1993 and tested every six months. In 1994, they were dismantled and the condemned suite is now used as a tea room for prison officers.[11] The gallows' trapdoor and lever were sent to the Prison Service Museum in Rugby, Warwickshire. After this museum permanently closed in 2004, they were sent to the Galleries of JusticeinNottingham, where those and an execution box may be seen.
Recent history
[edit]Panorama of HMP Wandsworth from Heathfield Road
In October 2009, gross misconduct charges were brought against managers of Wandsworth Prison, after an investigation found that prisoners had been temporarily transferred to HMP Pentonville before inspections. The transfers, which included vulnerable prisoners, were made in order to manipulate population figures.[13]
In March 2011, an unannounced follow-up inspection was conducted by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, which found that "...Wandsworth compared badly with similar prisons facing similar challenges and we were concerned by what appeared to be unwillingness among some prison managers and staff to acknowledge and take responsibility for the problems the prison faced."[14]
In May 2015 a prisoner was found dead in his cell, prompting a murder investigation.[15]
On 11 November 2018, a vulnerable and mentally ill 18-year-old Lithuanian national, Osvaldas Pagirys hanged himself in his cell in the prison's segregation unit. Osvaldas, who spoke little-to-no English was detained for extradition to Lithuania for stealing sweets and hanged himself in his cell after a series of failures by the prison. These failings including punishing him for his mental health rather than assisting him, using Google Translate to assess his risk of suicide, not acting on several prior suicide attempts and, on the day of his death, not answering his cell emergency bell for nearly an hour, which could have saved his life.[16]
On 6 September 2023, Daniel Abed Khalife, on remand awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and the Official Secrets Act, escaped from the prison.[17][18] The escape caused significant disruption at airports and ports around the UK due to enhanced security checks.[19] He was found and arrested in the Northolt area on 9 September 2023.[20]
In June 2024, the prison was investigated after a video emerged that allegedly showed a prison officer having sex with one of the inmates.[21]
Wandsworth Prison contains eight wings on two units. The smaller unit, containing three wings, was originally designed for women. This unit houses prisoners who attend full time activities.
Education and training courses are offered at Wandsworth.[22] Facilities at the prison include two gyms and a sports hall. The large prison chaplaincy offers chaplains from the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Mormon, and Jehovah's Witness faiths.
ABBC investigation showed large scale drug abuse with cannabis openly being smoked and harder drugs found. There are allegations of staff corruption, including of staff bringing drugs into the prison.[23] Wandsworth has lost its status as a reform prison. Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers Association said, "Wandsworth staff had bought into the reform process and worked well with the governor to implement the reforms. Now, the prison has lost its reform status and once again, staff and prisoners have been left high and dry as this government's agenda seems to change at the drop of a hat."[24] Wandsworth is the most overcrowded prison in England and body scanners were not used on visitors to prevent contraband being brought into the prison, allegedly due to shortage of staff. Peter Clarke said, "In essence, there were too many prisoners, many with drug-related or mental health issues, and with not enough to do." Also, not all staff carried anti-ligature knives despite six suicides since 2015.[25]
Chris Atkins'[26] book A Bit of a Stretch: The Diaries of a Prisoner[27] describes ongoing poor conditions during his stay in 2016–2017 with many of the touted improvements merely being on paper rather than having been implemented. He describes some of the attempted changes as part of the "Prison and Safety Reform (2016)" that were not successful.
Chris Atkins, journalist and documentary maker jailed for fraud.[26] Upon his release, Atkins published a book about his time in Wandsworth.[27]
Chris Huhne, former Energy Secretary jailed for perverting the course of justice in relation to swapping fixed penalty points with his then wife, Vicky Pryce.
Christopher Tappin, businessman convicted in the US for selling weapons parts to Iran in violation of international sanctions and jailed 33 months in January 2013; transferred from FCI Allenwood, Pennsylvania to serve his remaining 14-month sentence at Wandsworth in September 2013.[30]
Derek Bentley, convicted of the murder of a policeman and hanged at Wandsworth in 1953, later posthumously pardoned in 1993 and had his murder conviction overturned in 1998.
Eric Chappelow, World War I conscientious objector, for four months in 1916.[36]
Gary Glitter, singer, songwriter, and convicted sex offender.[37]
Graham Rix, former footballer and coach who was jailed for having underage sex with a 15-year-old girl.[38]
Ike Ekweremadu, Nigerian politician and former Senator of Nigeria convicted of bringing a 21-year-old man into the UK from Lagos, Nigeria in an organ-harvesting plot.[39][40]
Julian Assange,[42] was remanded in custody at HMP Wandsworth on 7 December 2010 after being refused bail prior to an extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court. On 16 December 2010, he was released on bail after another appeal.[43]
Mark Aizlewood, former international footballer who was jailed for fraud in 2018. Aizlewood was later transferred to a prison in Wales.[44]
^Russell, Bertrand & Griffin, Nicholas (2002). The Selected Letters of Bertrand Russell: The Public Years, 1914-1970. London: Routledge. p. 62. ISBN0415249988.
