A Different Justice
How are we ever going to achieve meaningful and radical change in the justice system if we continue allowing the right-wing press to control the narrative and dictate the conversation? I’m not sure there’s any topic on which the likes of the Daily Mail and its allies have had such a stranglehold. Even immigration has some pushback.
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The Governor of Barlinnie, Michael Stoney, has had his words twisted and misrepresented to a baffling extent. When discussing the new Barlinnie prison, which is set to replace the current crumbling and unfit-for-purpose structure, he outlined a vision for the new facility. What he describes is a huge step forward for the Scottish prison system.
Set to be operational by 2028, the new prison aims to foster a sense of community both within and externally. Stoney explains that it has been designed as more than just a prison—it will also serve as a space where local groups or MPs could meet. Internally, the layout is designed to free up officers' time for more meaningful work. At present, officers can spend an entire shift simply moving prisoners from one place to another due to the poor design and unsafe layout of the current prison. As a result, logistics take precedence over rehabilitation—an inefficient use of both time and money.
Stoney describes a facility designed with rehabilitation in mind. Smaller units will create a sense of community because, as he explains, people function better and achieve better results in smaller, more personal environments, rather than in large, soulless halls.
Essentially, he describes a place that “won’t just be seen as a prison but as somewhere you could walk into on any normal day—like a Costa Coffee.” He also discusses the practical matter of having toilets and showers in each room. At present, taking all prisoners for showers is an all-day task for some unfortunate officers. These are not luxuries—just simple, functional necessities.
Oh boy, did the right-wing media take issue with that. An en-suite in every room? AN EN-SUITE?! So, we’re going to let them have cleaning facilities now? Not on their watch. No, they want taxpayers’ money spent on time-wasting, and dangerous setups.
They would also have you believe these are the most luxurious bathroom facilities you had have laid eyes on.
Now, I’ll admit comparing a prison to a Costa Coffee might not have been the best choice of words—perhaps not the most effective PR move. But I understand the image he was trying to convey: an inviting space that feels friendly, non-threatening, and upbeat. After all, if we’re going to spend nearly a billion pounds, why would we deliberately design a place that is bleak, depressing, and counterproductive to rehabilitation? Why create a space that actively makes people feel worse?
Yet, the media narrative insists on making prisons as grim as possible, even if it costs more in the long run—only to then complain when we have to spend additional money expanding prisons because we failed to rehabilitate people in the first place.
It’s a tough narrative to challenge because, after all, these are people who have made bad choices. Some are among the worst in society—people who have harmed others. Who wants to stand up for them? But the reality is that the majority of prisoners have been failed by society long before they even left school.
Stoney acknowledges that this new prison is a significant financial investment—we know that, and so does he. He outlines efforts to cut costs and explains how the new design will also reduce current running expenses. The cost of public infrastructure is inevitably high, but failing to replace a crumbling Victorian prison is not a solution.
Michael Stoney is a rare type of governor. While still employed by the prison service, he is willing to speak out about the changes needed. He is not afraid to put forward to the public what a successful prison might look like, even in the face of the Daily Mail’s relentless agenda.
“trying to implement meaningful change in the current prison system is like trying to meditate in the middle of a hurricane—and then wondering why you don’t feel better at the end of it.”
He has already stated that he would “struggle” to survive in his own jail. This stands in stark contrast to other (not all) governors who paint a very different picture of their institutions.
Perhaps Stoney feels the need to emphasise the dire state of Barlinnie to justify its replacement. But he has spoken about the immense pressure on the prison, which is operating well over capacity and is used as an overspill facility for other prisons. He also recognises that life behind bars is a struggle no matter what—that’s why he believes he would struggle even in a modernised facility.
And that tells you everything: the current system doesn’t work.
Yet, we’ve trapped ourselves in a cycle of upholding a system that fails while attacking any suggestion that a more humane approach might be preferable. We’d rather see prisoners languishing in crumbling cells than in conditions that might improve outcomes. But if this is in the name of punishment, we have to ask: who else is being punished in the process? And who is benefiting?
Governor Stoney proposes a better way, but even he cannot push for the full extent of necessary change.
Because we could take a radically different approach—one that genuinely prioritises rehabilitation, changes lives, and creates better members of society. And in doing so, we would also make society safer by reducing violence and reoffending.
One model is the therapeutic community approach—a long-term, structured programme that helps individuals address their underlying issues and re-learn how to engage with life. The environment is positive and quiet, the staffing model is more informal (an approach that has been highly successful in countries like Norway), and, yes, cells have their own facilities (shock horror!).
The UK has already seen success with this model—HMP Grendon in southern England is a quiet success story. But it’s kept under wraps because, first, it makes the government look “soft”, and second, it doesn’t make for a good headline.
The initial costs of such a model are high, but you get out of it what you put in. Invest in people, and it saves money in the long run.
For too long, our approach to rehabilitation has been patchwork: a bit of this service, a bit of that therapy group, a short-lived pilot programme, or a well-intentioned initiative that was underfunded. But trying to implement meaningful change in the current prison system is like trying to meditate in the middle of a hurricane—and then wondering why you don’t feel better at the end of it.
Yes, standing up to the likes of the Daily Mail will take courage. But we cannot keep blindly building more and bigger prisons. We must stand firm and do the right thing—for public safety, for those who have lost their way, and for the taxpayer.
