Man Jailed 20 Years for Phone Theft Finally Going Home

After 20 years in prison for stealing a mobile phone, Leroy Douglas is weeks away from freedom.

Douglas was 24 when he robbed a friend of their phone behind a Cardiff railway station in 2005. No one was hurt. He received an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence with a minimum term of two and a half years. He's been locked up ever since.

IPP sentences were designed to keep dangerous criminals behind bars indefinitely. But Douglas and thousands of others remained in prison long after serving their minimum terms, unable to prove they were safe to release. The sentence was abolished in 2012, but not for people already serving time.

"I've never stopped fighting for my release," Douglas told The Independent from HMP Erlestoke in Wiltshire. "Freedom should have come to me ages ago, because I'm not dangerous. I only stole a phone."

The parole board finally approved his release after he completed drug treatment programs, anger management courses, and victim awareness training. He's been drug-free for years. His release will happen in October when he transfers to a hostel.

His freedom comes at a pivotal moment. Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced plans to end IPP sentences before the end of this parliament. The United Nations also issued a landmark opinion declaring Douglas's detention unlawful and arbitrary.

Why This Inspires

Douglas's story represents hope for roughly 3,000 people still serving IPP sentences across the UK. Many have been in prison for over a decade beyond their original terms. Tragically, 96 IPP prisoners have taken their own lives in despair.

The UN's former special rapporteur on torture, Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, called the sentence "horribly unfair" and urged the government to resentence remaining prisoners. The government will establish a cross-party oversight group to carefully review cases.

Douglas has endured 36 prison transfers and years of psychological strain. He now has a message for other IPP prisoners: keep fighting. "Most of us haven't committed crimes for over 10 years," he said. "We're human beings who deserve a second chance."

Justice delayed doesn't have to mean justice denied forever.