In the News

Full Sutton prison welcomes the Archbishop of York

Monday 02 July 2007

Dr Sentamu is to lead worship and a discussion around the life and work of William Wilberforce and the abolition of the slave trade. He will also meet prisoners in one of the wings, the Segregation Unit and the Healthcare Centre.

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Gareth Sands, Acting Governor, said: "We welcome visits of this nature in order that influential individuals from the community and wider society can see the real life of prisoners held within a high security setting. This is a prison holding a difficult group of prisoners with over half the population being life sentence prisoners and all without exception serving over four years in custody. Several prisoners are serving fifty year tariffs with some doing natural life. For this reason the experience of the prisoners differs from most of the prison population throughout the country and is unique in a setting such as this".

Dr Sentamu who has served as a Prison Chaplain at a Remand Centre said:

"Justice sometimes demands that we lock people up, but throwing away the key is never an option.

"We all have a vested interest in from Prisons treat their prisoners. No-one wants to see Prisons without hope that offer little in terms of rehabilitation or education.

"The work of Christian Chaplains in Prisons throughout this country often goes unnoticed outside, but in Prison the provision of spiritual care to both staff and prisoners can be transformative

"In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus said that visiting prisoners was like paying a visit to him. Our common humanity does not cease when someone is convicted of a crime and sent to prison.

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