16/09/2025
Man still in prison 20 years after stealing phone
Leroy Douglas A selfie of Leroy. He is pointing at the camera, with his head and shoulders visible. He is wearing a burgundy t-shirt and has stubble and short black hair. A white brick background with posters on the wall can be seen behind him. It is a head and shoulders shot of him. Leroy Douglas
Leroy Douglas has been in prison since 2005 after being given an indeterminate sentence
The father of a Cardiff man who has spent 20 years in prison after stealing a mobile phone has said his son has served a "life sentence" behind bars.
Leroy Douglas, 44, was handed a minimum term of two-and-a-half years in 2005 for robbery, but remains in custody as he is subject to an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP).
The controversial measure was scrapped in 2012, but campaigners are calling for those currently serving an IPP to be resentenced and have filed a case against the UK before the United Nations.
The Ministry of Justice said it released the highest annual number of IPP prisoners on record last year with additional support given to those in custody.
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IPPs are a type of sentence which means inmates can be detained indefinitely if the parole board decides it is not safe to release them.
They were designed to detain offenders who posed a "significant" risk of causing serious harm to the public, but faced criticism after being handed out for less serious crimes.
Defendants must serve a minimum term before being considered for release by the parole board but this is not automatic. They are also subject to licence conditions which they must follow or risk being recalled to prison once they are released.
Anthony Douglas, 63, said his son was a "normal kid" growing up who was "easily led" to make bad decisions.
He said Leroy Douglas, who is now in HMP Stocken in Stretton, Rutland started to get into trouble along with friends and received convictions for crimes including for shoplifting as a teenager and young man.
However, he said it "all escalated" when the dad-of-two was sentenced for stealing a mobile phone belonging to his cousin's boyfriend in 2005.
Instead of a fixed term two and a half year custody sentence, he was handed an IPP, which his family said was a "shock to everyone".
"He got two-and-a-half years and the next thing I know is that he's still in there all these years later," Mr Douglas said.
"I expected him to do half of the two-and-a-half years and start fresh again."
