Endless sentences and and other stories from the inside

How could you be arrested for trying to steal a cigarette and still be in prison 18 years later? That’s what happened to Martin Myers, one of 2,852 people in England and Wales stuck in an endless loop of incarceration, often over fairly mild offences.

Myers was profiled by Simon Hattenstone this week as part of his remarkable series on prisoners serving indeterminate sentences, known as imprisonment for public protection (IPP). Myers’ almost unbelievable story is one riddled with life-wrecking bureaucratic errors, including being falsely labelled a sex offender by the Parole Board. Last week Simon also told the heartbreaking story of Tommy Nicol (pictured above in an illustration by Yann Kebbi), who was serving an IPP and later took his own life. On Sunday, Shanti Das reported on the case of Scott Rider, who was initially imprisoned for 23 months but ended up serving 17 years before killing himself in 2022. The coroner in Rider’s case called his sentence “inhumane”.

Prisons are notoriously difficult to reform and often neglected by political parties trying to appear “tough on crime”. We’ve strived to make it a pillar of our reporting in each of our global newsrooms.

In the United States, where around 2 million people are imprisoned, our reporters have covered hundreds of tales of injustice, inadequate care and everyday violence. Last weekend Ed Pilkington reported on the trauma of witnessing “non-stop executions” for prison guards in death row states. Since last October, Sam Levin has been exposing the widespread sexual abuse suffered by women in California’s prisons in the Abuse behind bars series. In Australia, our team has focused on the disproportionate number of deaths in custody among Indigenous Australians via Deaths inside — a comprehensive database of every Aboriginal life lost in police and prison custody from 2008 to 2023. It’s the first time any media organisation has ever done such work. And Written off highlights the experiences of young people in Queensland’s justice system, where record numbers of children are being arrested and put in jail.

It can sometimes be hard to get people to pay attention to criminal justice, and reporting on prisons is challenging to do. So I was heartened by the huge response to Simon’s stories from our readers, including this letter from a former prison chaplain who lamented a lack of moral courage across the political divide in righting the IPP scandal.

Until next week. Here are the headlines.

There were some dramatic scenes in the US as riot police moved to disperse pro-Palestinian protestors across the country. We followed events at UCLA as they happened, reported from Emory University in Atlanta where peaceful protests became like a “war zone” and spotlighted essential reporting from student journalists, including those at Columbia’s student radio station.

With the far right seeking gains in next month’s European elections, Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis spent an enlightening weekend on the campaign trail with Jordan Bardella, the slick 28-year-old president of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. Bardella is poised to lead the party to its best-ever result. Meanwhile our Europe environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan spent time in Görlitz, on the German border with Poland, and produced a video dispatch to find out to what extent Germany’s green policies are fuelling the far right.

Humza Yousaf’s downfall as Scottish first minister was rapid and self-inflicted. Our Today in Focus episode on his resignation, featuring Severin Carrell and Libby Brooks, captured the drama of the breaking news and offered clear-eyed analysis on what the future holds for Scottish politics.

It was a disastrous night for the Conservative party in a series of English local elections on Thursday. Counting in some races, such as the London mayoral vote, goes on but we’re tracking all the results here.

The past 12 months have been extremely dangerous for journalists, from those on the ground in Gaza and Ukraine to others risking everything to share stories of environmental destruction. This week the Guardian has been marking World Press Freedom Day with a series of reports about journalists working in the face of immense danger. We spoke to many of those forced to work in exile and Jonathan Watts summed up the dangers facing those reporting from the frontline.

Off the coast of Heron Island in Queensland, a 300-year-old coral outcrop is washed-out white instead of its proper purplish-brown colour. Joe Hinchcliffe and Mike Bowers confirmed it as a sure sign of bleaching that has devastated the Great Barrier Reef this summer and left experts calling it the “year from hell”.

Sports interviewer Donald McRae met Paul Mullin, the prolific lower-division striker who is now, thanks to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Welcome to Wrexham series, an unlikely footballing celebrity. He spoke about his role in the delirium surrounding the club’s rise under celebrity owners and the acceptance, even joy, he found in his son’s autism.

I loved our feature telling the complex story of Stuart Potts, a man from Manchester who turned his one-bedroom flat into a homeless shelter. Great reporting by Samira Shackle.

I also really enjoyed Lanre Bakare’s illuminating piece about James Baldwin’s attempts to woo Hollywood.

He’s infamous for his incendiary newspaper columns and boorish behaviour on Top Gear, but Jeremy Clarkson is a changed man, apparently. Read Charlotte Edwardes’ revealing and entertaining interview to see if you’re convinced.

Would you pay £5 ($6.25, A$9.50) for a coffee? Sirin Kale looked at how a nice flat white got quite so expensive in the UK. Readers were outraged.

One more thing… I’ve been fascinated by the Middle East for a long time and am always looking for new ways to understand the region. A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall, written before the horrific events and aftermath of 7 October, tells the true story of a 2012 school bus crash in the West Bank in which six children and their teacher were killed. Thrall’s brilliant writing illuminates what is ordinary about Palestinian and Israeli lives, and what is not ordinary: how not just the crash, but also everything else, is defined by the occupation.

Cook this | José Pizarro’s lentils with wild garlic (or spinach) and goat’s cheese

Creamy Spanish lentils are little marvels with wild garlic (or spinach), crumbly goat’s cheese, honey and a dash of sherry vinegar. Try cooking José Pizarro’s recipe using our new Feast app which is available now on iOS, with Android coming soon.

Watch this | House No. 30 - Kabul – can journalism survive the Taliban? Documentary

The Etilaat Roz was once the most widely circulated newspaper in Kabul, but everything changed in August 2021 when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. Two years on, the founder and then editor-in-chief Zaki Daryabi continues to fight for the Etilaat Roz’s future.

Come to this | Michael Mann: It’s not too late to prevent climate catastrophe

“We haven’t yet exceeded the bounds of viable human civilisation,” climate scientist Michael Mann argues, “but we’re getting close.” In this livestreamed event, in conversation with Guardian environment editor Fiona Harvey, he will set out the political action we need to save and shape our future.

Wednesday 15 May, 8pm-9pm (BST)

The Guardian’s crosswords and Wordiply are here to keep you entertained throughout the weekend.