Exeter (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Exeter is a local
men's prison
, located in Exeter
in the county of Devon
, England
. The term 'local' means that this prison holds people on remand
to the local courts. Exeter Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
design. There are four residential wings.
The prison has been the setting for many executions. Of particular note is the attempted execution of John Babbacombe Lee in February 1885. Three attempts were made to carry out his execution. All ended in failure as the trap door of the scaffold failed to open. This was despite the fact it had been carefully tested by James Berry
, the executioner, beforehand. As a result, Home Secretary Sir William Harcourt
commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. Lee continued to petition successive Home Secretaries and was finally released from Exeter prison in 1907.
In August 1999 a report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
severely criticised conditions at Exeter prison, with some inmates still having to slop out
despite government claims that the practice had been eradicated from all jails three years previously. The report went on to state that Exeter Prison seemed to be "at the end of the line" and that industrial relations there bordered on anarchy.
A report issued by the Prison Reform Trust
in May 2005 stated that Exeter was struggling with overcrowding. The report criticised the lack of meaningful activities at the prison, resulting in inmates spending too much time locked in their cells. The report also noted, however, that Exeter Prison was among the best in the country at helping to rehabilitate offenders.
Exeter was highlighted again months later for its overcrowding by the Howard League for Penal Reform
, who stated that the prison was running at 70% over capacity.
, Devon and West Somerset
.
The prison offers inmates employment in the kitchen
s, waste management
, stores and domestic cleaning. Exeter also offers accredited training courses in education
, computer
s, sports and leisure.
Prison security categories in the United Kingdom
There are four prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom used to classify every adult prisoner for the purposes of assigning them to a prison. The categories are based upon the severity of the crime and the risk posed should the person escape....
men's prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, located in Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
in the county of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The term 'local' means that this prison holds people on remand
Detention of suspects
The detention of suspects is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in a police-cell, remand prison or other detention centre before trial or sentencing. One criticism of pretrial detention is that eventual acquittal can be a somewhat hollow victory, in that there is no way to...
to the local courts. Exeter Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
.
History
The current Exeter prison was built around 1850, and is of a typical VictorianVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
design. There are four residential wings.
The prison has been the setting for many executions. Of particular note is the attempted execution of John Babbacombe Lee in February 1885. Three attempts were made to carry out his execution. All ended in failure as the trap door of the scaffold failed to open. This was despite the fact it had been carefully tested by James Berry
James Berry (hangman)
James Berry was an English executioner from 1884 until 1891. Berry was born in Heckmondwike in Yorkshire, where his father worked as a wool-stapler. His most important contribution to the science of hanging was his refinement of the long drop method developed by William Marwood, whom Berry knew...
, the executioner, beforehand. As a result, Home Secretary Sir William Harcourt
William Vernon Harcourt (politician)
Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt was a British lawyer, journalist and Liberal statesman. He served as Member of Parliament for various constituencies and held the offices of Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer under William Ewart Gladstone before becoming Leader of...
commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. Lee continued to petition successive Home Secretaries and was finally released from Exeter prison in 1907.
In August 1999 a report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales...
severely criticised conditions at Exeter prison, with some inmates still having to slop out
Slopping out
Slopping out is the emptying of buckets of human waste when the cells are unlocked in prisons in the morning. Inmates without a toilet in the cell have to use a bucket or chamber pot while locked in during the night. The reason that some cells do not have toilets is that they date from the...
despite government claims that the practice had been eradicated from all jails three years previously. The report went on to state that Exeter Prison seemed to be "at the end of the line" and that industrial relations there bordered on anarchy.
A report issued by the Prison Reform Trust
Prison Reform Trust
The Prison Reform Trust was founded in 1981 in London, England by a small group of prison reform campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform was heading, concentrating more on community punishments than on traditional prison reform issues...
in May 2005 stated that Exeter was struggling with overcrowding. The report criticised the lack of meaningful activities at the prison, resulting in inmates spending too much time locked in their cells. The report also noted, however, that Exeter Prison was among the best in the country at helping to rehabilitate offenders.
Exeter was highlighted again months later for its overcrowding by the Howard League for Penal Reform
Howard League for Penal Reform
The Howard League for Penal Reform is a London-based registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. Founded in 1866 as the Howard Association, a merger with the Penal Reform League in 1921 created the Howard League for...
, who stated that the prison was running at 70% over capacity.
The prison today
HMP Exeter accepts all male adults and young offenders committed to prison by the courts from CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, Devon and West Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
The prison offers inmates employment in the kitchen
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...
s, waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
, stores and domestic cleaning. Exeter also offers accredited training courses in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, sports and leisure.