The processes of ‘justice’ were laid bare in Nim’s case. From the start there was no gravitas, the judge arrived in the first court we met him visibly enjoying a hearty matter with the defense. It set the tone, maybe it was naive for me to think that a charge of murder to a ‘black’ man by a girl child deserved some gravitas. In the event we were kept away from the court by the police. This while a lesser charge of manslaughter with diminished responsibility was decided by the judge. We expected that given her realities she would and should receive a hospital order, in order that she be secured and undergo the extensive rehabilitative treatments clinically advised yet ignored by children’s services when she had been previously incarcerated for stabbing her mother. Apparently there was no facility for this. This child has since spent 5years within the secure estate, only racking up further serious charges and has only now, as an adult been given a hospital order. Why? Children who enter the secure estate become part of a framework called AssetPlus. Considering that so much of what should be state responsibility for the most vulnerable children in Britain is in fact farmed out to private enterprise then AssetPlus is simply a business plan, these children have no option or opportunity to come to terms with their realities and responsibilities and heal sufficiently to be safely released back into life and society. They become a safe bet for return to the system. Being able to continue to create image throughout has helped me defy the gravity of the awfulness of all of this and some of the appallingly careless humans I have met along the way.

Dimensions | Length x Width x Depth in mm

30 cm x 30 cm Compilation of original images paintings, photography, digital layering, drawing, into quality Giclee prints on 300gsm St Cuthberts Mill Somerset

Any charities or wider societal issues you like to highlight:

Inquest 100 Families SAMM Victim Support The Howard League