HM Prison Low Newton is a
Closed prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
for female adults and young offenders. The prison is located in the village of
Brasside
Brasside is a suburban village near Durham, located in the civil parish of Framwellgate Moor in County Durham, England. It is situated to the north of Durham, and is close to the villages of Pity Me
Pity Me is a suburban village of Durham, ...
(near
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
) in
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly 鈥About North East E ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Low Newton is operated by
His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison is located next to
HMP Frankland
HM Prison Frankland is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category A men's prison located in the village of Brasside in County Durham, England. Frankland is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
Frankland was origina ...
, the
Category A adult male prison. The prison has housed child killer
Rosemary West
Rosemary Pauline West (n茅e Letts; born 29 November 1953) is an English serial killer who collaborated with her husband, Fred West, in the torture and murder of at least nine young women between 1973 and 1987; and has also housed serial killer
Joanna Dennehy
Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from he, 讬讜止讞指谞指讛, translit=Y么岣ツ乶膩h, lit=God is gracious. Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Jani ...
.
History
Low Newton Prison was originally constructed in 1965 as a mixed remand centre for 65 males and 11 females. Additional accommodation was provided in 1975 and the capacity of the centre increased to 215, though the centre was normally overcrowded. Low Newton accommodated both male and female young persons and adult women until September 1998, when a re-role refurbishment programme commenced. Since 1998 HMP Low Newton has been an all-female jail taking female prisoners from across the north of England, as well as lifers and juveniles.
In the same year an inmate from Low Newton had to be immobilised by a Taser stun-gun whilst visiting the
University Hospital of North Durham
University Hospital of North Durham is an acute care hospital built to replace the older Dryburn Hospital on the same site. It is managed by the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The hospital has its origins in the Drybu ...
. The prisoner was being treated for wounds to her thigh and groin, when she grabbed the prison officer to whom she was handcuffed. The inmate then held a pair of scissors to the throat of the officer and demanded drugs, before being stunned by the police.
In February 2014 The Learning Shop, an initiative set up in the prison to improve women's mental health was closed due to lack of funding. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS), part of the Ministry of Justice, stated that similar support would still be available to prisoners.
The prison today
Low Newton is an all-female maximum security prison and young offender institution. It also holds a small number of juveniles and life sentenced prisoners. Low Newton serves the courts in the catchment area from the
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Cr矛ochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...
to
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
across to North
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
.
Low Newton is also home to the 'Primrose Project', designed to treat women with 'Dangerous and Severe
Personality Disorder
Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individual's culture ...
s', the only women's prison in the United Kingdom with such a unit.
Notable inmates
Notable people to have been incarcerated at the prison include:
Current
*
Joanna Dennehy
Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from he, 讬讜止讞指谞指讛, translit=Y么岣ツ乶膩h, lit=God is gracious. Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Jani ...
*
Emma Aitken 鈥 Murderer, former
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
lover of Dennehy in prison
Former
*
Sharon Carr
Sharon Louise Carr (born 1981), also known as "The Devil's Daughter", is a British woman who is Britain's youngest female murderer. In June 1992, aged only 12, she murdered 18-year-old Katie Rackliff after picking her out at random as she walke ...
鈥 Britain's youngest female murderer who killed aged only 12, briefly spent time at Low Newton in 2018 and 2019 before being moved after another violent incident with another inmate
*
Tracey Connelly 鈥 known for her part in the abuse and killing of
Baby P
*
Rosemary West
Rosemary Pauline West (n茅e Letts; born 29 November 1953) is an English serial killer who collaborated with her husband, Fred West, in the torture and murder of at least nine young women between 1973 and 1987;
*
Anne Darwin
Anne Elizabeth "Annie" Darwin (2 March 1841 鈥 23 April 1851) was the second child and eldest daughter of Charles and Emma Darwin.
Life
In 1849, Anne caught scarlet fever along with her two sisters, and her health thereafter declined; some a ...
鈥 wife of John Darwin, who faked his own death with the help of Anne in an initially successful bid to fraudulently claim financial benefits
*
Bernadette McNeilly
The murder of Suzanne Capper was committed in Greater Manchester, England in December 1992. Sixteen-year-old Suzanne Jane Capper died in Withington Hospital on 18 December 1992, from multiple organ failure arising from 80% burns after being deli ...
鈥 Leader of a group that tortured and murdered 16-year-old
Suzanne Capper
Suzanne may refer to:
People
* Suzanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name)
* S. U. Zanne, pen name of August Vandekerkhove (1838鈥1923), Belgian writer and inventor
* Suzanne, pen name of Ren茅e M茅nd ...
, released in 2015
* Barbara Salisbury 鈥 nurse convicted of the attempted murder of two elderly patients in order to "free up beds", was also charged but not convicted of other attempted murders/murders of patients
References
External links
Ministry of Justice pages on Low NewtonRegime information for Low Newton Prison
{{Prisons in North East England
Low Newton
Low Newton
Low Newton
Low Newton
Buildings and structures in Durham, England
1965 establishments in England