Free Inseparable Bond by David Poulter

the role he must play at the tribunal, as
much of the board’s decision would be based on his current state of
mind and attitude throughout the hearing.
    Bill was
pleased with the news but apprehensive at the thought of surviving
in the outside society to which he may shortly return, as for the
past twelve years he had only been in the company of hardened
criminals.
    He was given
one week to prepare himself for the tribunal and the reality of the
situation that possibly faces him on the outside. Just getting out
of prison, out of close confinement excited him and was worth
looking forward too, but he inwardly feared the change, as the past
twelve years inside were far different to the pace of life on the
outside.
    Bell did not
have a family to accommodate him, his mother had died which left
only his sister, but her husband would never have him enter their
home, so he would need to look for lodgings and have interviews for
jobs which began to worry him as he had become familiar with the
ordinary prison conditions and felt safe and secure with the
inmates.
    Over the next
few days, he concentrated on the hope of a successful hearing and
dreamed of being a law-abiding citizen.
    Being in debt
when he entered prison meant there were no funds on the outside.
Although he would receive a small amount of money on his release,
it would demand considerable strength of character to build up a
new existence from such a very slender foundation, which Bell
realised could be a real and serious problem unless his sister was
in a financial position to assist in the short term.
    The following
Monday morning, Bell prepared himself for the tribunal and was
escorted by two officers and his social worker to the governor’s
office for the parole tribunal. On entering the room, he smiled at
the panel of officials as he sat at the one chair facing them.
    They talked
among themselves as they deliberated their outcome and bombarded
Bell with an abundance of pressured questions as a test to his
pending release to the outside community.
    He returned to
his cell flanked by the two officers and laid on his bed feeling
exhausted after his ordeal. He had come to terms with the thought
of spending his entire sentence in the care of the prison
authorities should the outcome of the hearing not be successful, as
the thought of an existence on the outside did not seem as
attractive as he had first thought.
    The next day
his social worker entered his cell and issued Bell with a letter
containing details of the outcome of the previous days tribunal,
stating that his application for parole had been unsuccessful.
    He smiled at
the social worker as he looked around the floral patterned cell
then reached out, emotionally holding on to his social worker.
    It wasn’t all
bad news, his case would be reviewed in two years and in the
meantime, he would be transferred to an open prison in
Buckinghamshire the following day.
    He spent his
last night in Strangeways visiting his fellow inmates. Bell was sad
to be leaving his long-term friends and the strange sense of
security he had found behind the high walls, yet inwardly he was
excited at the prospect of spending time in a less hostile and
suppressed atmosphere.
    He travelled
the four hour journey with three other inmates who had also had
their parole refused, but they were unknown to Bell, being from
different wings. They were each locked in individual cabins in the
transfer vehicle with only one toilet stop throughout the
journey.
    Bell was
looking forward to his next two years, and maybe longer, in a
favoured open prison after the years he had spent in overcrowded,
sub-human conditions which he had thought of as ‘legally controlled
suffering’.
    As the vehicle
arrived at the open prison, the three disembarked flanked by the
two security guards who had accompanied them on the journey. Bell
looked around at the open aspect of the building, resembling more
of a hotel than an institution of correction, but the reception