Our brutalising and degrading prisons | Letters

Deborah Coles, Joe Sim and Steve Tombs see a system which is outside of democratic controlYet another damning report on prison conditions, not least with respect to those with mental health problems, emerges (The treatment of prisoners with mental health problems is a national shame, 20 December). Eric Allison notes the call by Inquest, among others, for alternatives to prison to be found for those suffering mental health problems and a more therapeutic response for those for whom prison is the