Prison is no place for this disabled man

Will the Paralympics help challenge the daily pain and discrimination millions of disabled people have to contend with? Or will the celebrated sporting achievement of some be used to hide the fate of those considered less worthy? In his excellent article about the neglect of ill and disabled people in prison ( Comment is free , 5 September), Eric Allison describes as "the worst I have ever come across" the suffering of Daniel Roque Hall, a severely disabled 30-year-old man with complex healthcare needs. Despite assurances by the governor of Wormwood Scrubs that it could and would provide him adequate care, he has been in and out of hospital since he was taken to prison, and has ended up on life support. Daniel Roque Hall's mother describes what he has faced: "Tortured and taken to doctors to be saved so he can be taken back to prison and tortured again." This has been raised with the prisons minister and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. To save his life, his mother and friends have had to fight through the censorship, the callousness and the political opportunism that demonise prisoners. No Paralympic medals can make up for the fact that those who are most vulnerable are being denied their dignity and their rights. People with disabilities, also demonised as a precursor to being targeted for savage cuts and hate crimes, are already fighting for their lives. As Allison makes clear, no one is more vulnerable than a severely disabled prisoner. If care institutions, be they hospitals, prisons, or residential or retirement homes, are able to neglect, torture and even kill with impunity, then none of us is ever safe. To send Daniel Roque Hall back to prison would amount to cruel and degrading punishment and a death sentence. He must be allowed to serve his sentence at home. Niki Adams Legal Action for Women Emily Burnham Non-practising solicitor Peter Chappell Homeopath Claudio Chipana Member, Latin American Recognition Campaign (LARC) Lord Dholakia Niamh Eastwood Release Lisa Egan Joan Faber Religious Sister Tara Flood Diane Frazer Psychotherapist Claire Glasman WinVisible (women with visible and invisible disabilities) Professor Paul Higgs Sociology of Ageing, University College London John Hirst Prisoners' rights advocate Selma James International Wages for Housework Campaign Anver Jeevanjee Retired immigration judge Lord Judd Michael Kalmanovitz Payday men's network Bruce Kent Flo Krause Barrister Nina Lopez Global Women's Strike Ian Macdonald QC Daniel Machover Solicitor Baroness Masham of Ilton Francesca Martinez Comedian and writer Anna Mazzola Solicitor John McArdle Black Triangle Campaign John McDonnell MP Anne Neale Queer Strike Robert Nind Progressing Prisoners Maintaining Innocence Julie O'Keefe Occupational therapist in neuro-disability and palliative care Pat Onions John O Miscarriages of Justice UK (MOJUK) Angela Qasir School principal Lord Ramsbotham Lord Redesdale Professor Graham Scambler Medical Sociology, University College London Professor Michael Thorndyke Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Baroness Wilkins Benjamin Zephaniah