Please note that this episode discusses suicide and self harm.

Should someone with schizophrenia stand trial? Can they be held responsible for their actions if their behaviour isn't rooted in reality?

Our hosts are joined by Dr Bradley Hillier, forensic psychiatrist, and Rhona Friedman, solicitor, to discuss how people with serious mental illnesses are treated in the justice system; the legal questions surrounding their participation at court; and the role of forensic hospitals.

Dr Bradley Hillier

Find out more about Bradley here: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/roles-doctors/psychiatry/forensic-psychiatry/real-life-story-dr-brad-hillier

Rhona Friedman

Find out more about Rhona's innovative firm Commons Legal here: https://www.commons.legal/

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

BlueSky: @transformjustice.bsky.social

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

Ten years ago, the Single Justice Procedure (SJP) was introduced to make the magistrates’ courts more efficient. Designed to handle minor offences swiftly and cheaply, it allows cases to be decided by a single magistrate behind closed doors, often without the defendant’s knowledge or participation. Guilty pleas and mitigation can be submitted online, and most cases are processed in weeks rather than months. But at what cost?

In this episode, host Penelope Gibbs is in the hot seat alongside barrister Kirsty Brimelow KC to discuss how the SJP works and what it means for people facing charges.

Penelope Gibbs @PenelopeGibbs2

Read Penelope's report on the Single Justice Procedure here: http://bit.ly/4o5bOjG

Kirsty Brimelow KC @Kirsty_Brimelow

Find out more about Kirsty's work here: https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/barristers/kirsty-brimelow-kc

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

BlueSky: @transformjustice.bsky.social

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

Custody is supposed to be used as a last resort when a child gets in trouble. But that's not always the case. In this episode, our hosts are joined by Dr Anne-Marie Day, youth justice researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University, and Dr Laura Janes KC (Hon), solicitor. They discuss why children are detained, how they are treated in custody, and what the experience of imprisonment is like for a child.

Dr Anne-Marie Day

Read more about Anne-Marie's work here: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/staff/profile/dr-anne-marie-day#t-tabs_staff_profile-3

Dr Laura Janes KC (Hon)

Find out more about Laura's work here: https://laurakjanes.co.uk/

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

BlueSky: @transformjustice.bsky.social

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

The long-awaited final report of David Gauke's sentencing review was published on 22nd May 2025. In this episode, Penelope and Rob are joined by Rachel Sylvester, political editor of The Observer, to discuss its contents.

From chemical castration to early release, the report covers a huge range of suggestions to reduce pressure on our prison system. But will it be enough to finally broker peace between the parties, the public, and the prisons?

Rachel Sylvester

Read more from The Times' crime and justice commission, which Rachel chaired: https://www.thetimes.com/law/crime-justice-commission

Further resources:

Read the sentencing review final report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-sentencing-review-final-report

Read Rob's latest blog about the sentencing review: https://reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/05/a-good-try-but-can-it-be-converted.html

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

BlueSky: @transformjustice.bsky.social

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

Does equality before the law mean treating everyone the same? Sparks have flown in recent weeks as Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood and Lord Davis, Chairman of The Sentencing Council, debate proposed guidelines that encourage judges to consider pre-sentence reports for certain groups, including ethnic and religious minorities. The Lord Chancellor has publicly criticised the proposals for creating a "two-tier" justice system.

In this episode, hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by Sonya Ruparel, CEO of Women in Prison, and journalist David Shipley. They discuss what sparked the debate, why some oppose the guidelines, and who should have final say on matters informing sentencing.

Sonya Ruparel

Read Women in Prison's statement: https://womeninprison.org.uk/news/women-in-prison-respond-to-discussion-on-sentencing-council-guidance

David Shipley

Read David's article for the Spectator: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-sentencing-council-has-been-humiliated/

Further resources:

Read the guidlines that sparked the debate: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/overarching-guides/magistrates-court/item/imposition-of-community-and-custodial-sentences-overarching-guideline/

Read Rob's analysis of the debate: https://reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/04/parliamentary-undersight-strange-case.html

Read the letters between the Lord Chancellor and Lord Davis:

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/20250310-Letter-from-Lord-Justice-William-Davis-to-Lord-Chancellor-on-Imposition-FOR-PUBLICATION.pdf

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e6640655be617e1490d69c/lord-chancellor-rt-hon_lord-justice-davis.pdf

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025-03-26-Letter-to-the-Lord-Chancellor-from-William-Davis-LJ-1.pdf

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

BlueSky: @transformjustice.bsky.social

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

It's estimated that 50% of people in prison are neurodivergent, compared to around 15% of the general population. But why?

In this episode, hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by David Breakspear, ambassador for ADHD Liberty, and Professor Stan Gilmour, former police officer and neurodisability researcher. Focusing on ADHD and brain injury, they discuss how neurodivergent people get caught up in the criminal justice system, why they might have worse outcomes than those who are neurotypical, and what the system could do to prevent neurodivergent people being unfairly criminalised.

David Breakspear

Find out more about David's work with ADHD liberty here: https://www.adhdliberty.org/

Stan Gilmour

Read Stan's most recent work on brain injury here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hidden-injuries-unaddressed-link-between-brain-trauma-gilmour-kpm-r0mye/

Further resources:

Brain injury and the criminal justice system: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/v8media/universityofexeter/schoolofpsychology/ccnr/documents/Brain_Injury_News_Issue_5_Spring_15.pdf

ADHD and the criminal justice system:

https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Takeda_ADHD-in-the-CJS-Roundtable-Report_Final.pdf

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

BlueSky: @transformjustice.bsky.social

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

More than 70,000 cases ranging from drug possession to rape are currently waiting to be heard in the crown court. This backlog is leaving victims without justice, defendants in limbo, and the public questioning if our justice system is fit for purpose. The backlog has been the subject of much discussion, but is it all just commentary?

Hosts Rob and Penelope are joined by former Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk KC and Dominic Thomas, barrister at 25 Bedford Row, to talk solutions. Will increasing judge sitting days, reducing sentence lengths, or introducing a new 'intermediate' court finally fix things?

Alex Chalk KC @AlexChalkChelt

Read more about Alex's proposal for a new kind of court here: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/alex-chalks-radical-solution-for-the-crown-court-backlog-xpgrkdgw5

Dominic Thomas @domttom

Find out more about Dominic's work here: https://www.25bedfordrow.com/site/people/profile/dthomas

Further resources

For information about the courts review: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/independent-review-of-the-criminal-courts

Transform Justice's response to the review: https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Transform-Justices-response-to-the-Independent-Review-of-the-Criminal-Courts.pdf

Read more about Rob's experience being called for jury duty: https://reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/02/jurys-out.html

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

Prison is intended to punish wrongdoing. But all too often it's not just the person on the inside who's punished, but those on the outside too: their family.

In this episode, Penelope and Rob are joined by Josie Cole, author of 'prison bag', a blog describing her experience navigating family life with a partner on the inside, and Dr Lorna Brookes, founder of Time Matters and Reader in Parental Imprisonment at Liverpool John Moores University.

They discuss the impact of separation through imprisonment on partnerships and children and how prison thwarts attempts to maintain relationships.

Josie Cole @prisonbag

Read Josie's blog Prison Bag here: https://us15.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=d1afca7a40fd3dfb4cead907c&id=fda16af2c8

Dr Lorna Brookes @TimeMattersUK1

Find out more about Lorna's work here: https://www.timemattersuk.com/

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.