THE tragic life of prison reform campaigner Pauline Campbell is to be celebrated by academics.
A conference at Manchester Metropolitan University is in honour of Mrs Campbell, from Hampton Heath, near Malpas, who committed suicide five years after her own daughter Sarah’s death at Styal Prison aged 18.
The event, on Monday. December 7, 2009, is entitled The Social Reality of Prison: The Call for Human Rights and recognises the campaigning efforts of Mrs Campbell who fought for justice for women who die in prison.
Her daughter Sarah, a heroin addict, died following an overdose of prescription drugs on her second day in prison after she was sentenced to three years for the manslaughter of pensioner Amrit Bhandari, 72, from Garden City, outside Chester’s Odeon cinema in 2002.
An inquest into Sarah’s death heard how she was able to smuggle drugs into the prison, there was a lack of reference to her self-harm file, little urgency in formulating appropriate care plans and communication problems between health professionals and disciplinary staff.
Among those addressing the symposium will be Professor Barry Goldson from The University of Liverpool will give a talk entitled Abuses of power and violations of rights: child imprisonment in a punitive age. A lecture in memory of Pauline Campbell.
Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform will speak in lecture called The Lost Daughters.
Mrs Campbell, 60, took an overdose of anti-depressants and died lying on her daughter’s grave at Malpas Cemetery on May 15, 2008.
An inquest found she took her own life.
