Thomas has spent 12 years in jail after stealing a phone
manchestereveningnews.co.ukThe first public parole hearing for a prisoner serving a long-abolished indefinite jail sentence is due to take place. And the case, being held today, will be closely watched by the family of a Greater Manchester man who has spent 12 years in jail for stealing a mobile phone.
Now aged 40, Thomas White from Bury, was locked up in 2012 and given an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence, with a minimum of two years, after being convicted of a street robbery in Manchester city centre.
He learned his fate months before such IPP sentences were abolished - and over a decade on still remains in jail. The father-of-one is one of 2,852 people behind bars serving an IPP sentence.
Figures published by the government in January revealed that of those 2,852 people, 1,227 haven't been released. Of those, 699 - 57 per cent - are more than 10 years beyond their original sentence. READ NEXT: GMP up powers in Bury after third knife attack in four days as violence between rival gangs escalates Between 2005 and 2013 8,711 people in England and Wales were handed an IPP sentence.
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