Taylor is a long-term prisoner who has been attacked by officers at HMP Eastwood Park in a concerted effort to sabotage his parole.

After being held captive for almost 15 years on an indeterminate sentence (the retrospectively abolished imprisoned for public protection sentence (IPP) that still affects thousands of people), Taylor has been getting day releases he has hard fought for and earned. Today (20^th May) he was in Cabot Circus in Bristol, when the Officer responsible for supervising him abandoned him. Taylor tried to find her, but he was unable to. He had no phone or way of finding her despite looking continuously around the city. As a result, he returned to HMP Eastwood Park past the 4pm deadline. This means his licence was breached. We believe this is an intentional attempt to sabotage his chances of getting parole, which happens consistently before parole hearings.  

Instead of taking responsibility for losing Taylor, the officer who escorted Taylor into Bristol lied and claimed he went missing for a number of hours on purpose. Taylor was placed on report for breaching his licence conditions. Taylor has worked so hard to "stay out of trouble", despite the ways in which he is the target of ableist and transphobic abuse on a constant basis. Being placed on report because a prison officer had lied about neglecting their responsibility is deeply unfair.

In response to Taylor contesting this treatment, Prison Officers then attacked him. He is covered in blood and bruises and is incredibly distressed. He is awaiting surgery for a major hernia and being 'bent up' by officers is a life-threatening act of violence. He has been moved wings and denied all of his property. This abusive treatment is only going to exacerbate his serious mental and physical health conditions after years of incarceration. Taylor’s loved ones are seriously worried about his wellbeing.