HM Prison Low Newton

HM Prison Low Newton is a closed prison for female adults and young offenders in Brasside, County Durham, England. The prison, which is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, is next to HMP Frankland, a Category A men's prison. Notable inmates at the prison include the child killer Lucy Letby and formerly Rosemary West, as well as spree killer Joanna Dennehy.

HMP & YOI Low Newton
LocationBrasside, County Durham
Security classClosed Female and Young Offender
Population336 (as of July 2008)
Opened1965
Managed byHM Prison Services
GovernorRob Young
WebsiteLow Newton at justice.gov.uk

History

Low Newton Prison was originally constructed in 1965 as a mixed remand centre for 65 males and 11 females. Additional accommodation was provided in 1975 and the capacity of the centre increased to 215, though the centre was normally overcrowded. Low Newton accommodated both male and female young persons and adult women until September 1998, when a re-role refurbishment programme commenced. Since 1998 HMP Low Newton has been an all-female jail taking female prisoners from across the north of England, as well as lifers and juveniles.[1]

In the same year an inmate from Low Newton had to be immobilised by a Taser stun-gun whilst visiting the University Hospital of North Durham. The prisoner was being treated for wounds to her thigh and groin, when she grabbed the prison officer to whom she was handcuffed. The inmate then held a pair of scissors to the throat of the officer and demanded drugs, before being stunned by the police.[2]

In February 2014 The Learning Shop, an initiative set up in the prison to improve women's mental health was closed due to lack of funding. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS), part of the Ministry of Justice, stated that similar support would still be available to prisoners.[3]

The prison today

Low Newton is an all-female maximum security prison and young offender institution. It also holds a small number of juveniles and life sentenced prisoners. Low Newton serves the courts in the catchment area from the Scottish Borders to North Yorkshire across to North Cumbria.

Low Newton is also home to the 'Primrose Project', designed to treat women with 'Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorders', the only women's prison in the United Kingdom with such a unit.[4][5]

Notable inmates

Notable people to have been incarcerated at the prison include:

Current

Former
  • Sharon Carr – youngest female murderer in the U.K. who killed aged 12, briefly spent time at Low Newton in 2018 and 2019 before being moved after another violent incident with another inmate[9]
  • Tracey Connelly[10] – known for her part in the abuse and killing of Baby P
  • Rose West[11] — serial killer, former wife of Fred West
  • Anne Darwin – wife of John Darwin, who faked his own death with the help of Anne in an initially successful bid to fraudulently claim financial benefits[12]
  • Bernadette McNeilly[13] – Leader of a group that tortured and murdered 16-year-old Suzanne Capper, released in 2015
  • Barbara Salisbury – nurse convicted of the attempted murder of two elderly patients in order to "free up beds", was also charged but not convicted of other attempted murders/murders of patients[14][15]

References
  1. Howard League - Low Newton
  2. "UK | England | Wear | Stun-gun used in hospital siege". BBC News. 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  3. "'Unique' initiative to helping vulnerable female prisoners closed by funding cuts". The Northern Echo.
  4. DSPD Website - Primrose Project Archived February 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Our work with a local prison scoops World Health Organisation award". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-05.
  6. Metcalfe, Will (11 March 2015). "County Durham women's prison praised by inspectors but some concerns raised". nechronicle.
  7. "Peterborough ditch murderer Joanna Dennehy is 'dating another killer in prison'". Cambridgeshire Live. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  8. "Inside Low Newton: the high security prison that will house Lucy Letby'". Guardian. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  9. "Carr, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Justice [2020]" (Legal application for Judicial Review). casemine. England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court). 11 March 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  10. "Baby P's mum to spend Christmas in County Durham jail as parole board decision delayed". Chronicle Live. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  11. "This is the reason Rose West has been moved to a West Yorkshire prison". WestYorkshire News. 21 July 2019.
  12. "Canoe fake death wife Anne Darwin: I'll feel guilt until I die". BBC News. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  13. "Sex with 'Chucky' killer; Prison boss resigns over his secret affair". The Free Library. 28 January 1996. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  14. "'She is no Harold Shipman'". Crewe Chronicle. 22 September 2004. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  15. "Nurse gets five years for seeking to kill two patients". The Guardian. 19 June 2004. Retrieved 26 November 2021.

54°48′17.8″N 1°33′21.09″W

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