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1045 pm

I spend ht at NSC in my own room No music, no smoke, no hassle

DAY 94

SATURDAY 20 OCTOBER 2001

600 am

Weekends are deadly in a prison Jules, my pad-mate at Wayland used to say the only time you’re not

in prison is when you’re asleep So over the weekend, a lot of prisoners just re to occupy me

800 am

I spot Mattheho ht His father is still in a coma, and he accohweek is Monday to Friday, it’s not unusual for an officer to be on duty at SMU on a Saturday

Mr Downs and Mr Gough are already at their desks, and after I’ve h iven day or week If I were to stick to simply as required, it would take me no more than a couple of hours each day

Over a cup of tea (Bovril for htmare year

Matthew is twenty-four, six foot one, sli aware of it He’s highly intelligent, but also rather gauche, and totally out of place in prison He read y at Manchester University and will coer or an academic ‘An academic,’ he replies, without hesitation

His first job after leaving university was as a volunteer at a museum in his home town He was happy there, but soon decided he wanted to return to university That hen hisAfter his mother was bedridden, he and his sister took it in turns to help around the house, so that his father could continue to work All three found the extra workload a tre while at work in the museum, Matthew took home some ancient coins to study I haven’t used the word ‘stole’ because he returned all the coins a few days later But the incident weighed so heavily on his conscience that he inforht that would be the end of the matter But someone decided to report the incident to the police Mattheas arrested and charged with breach of trust He pleaded guilty, and was assured by the police that they would not be pushing for a custodial sentence His solicitor was also of the saet a suspended sentence or a coave him fifteen months5

Matthew is a classic example of someone who should not have been sent to jail; a hundred hours of coht serve some purpose, but this boy has spent the last three lars He won’t turn to a life of criht? It’s a rotten system that allows such a person to end up in prison

My forie Peppiatt, stole thousands of pounds from me, and still hasn’t been arrested I feel for Matthew