The problem is Gill is that, fundamentally, improving prison conditions scores no political brownie points. The prison population in the UK and the US are not representative of their population in general. Non-white, low socio-economic class,, health problems ( both physical and mental) learning disabilities, backgrounds of being in care, childhood abuse and deprivation are vastly over represented. As a society, there’s no evidence of improving prisons being anywhere near a political priority.
And it’s not just prisons, the whole criminal justice system here is falling apart, aggravated, but not caused by COVId. I’ve always read the reports of HMI of prisons and supported the work of the Howard Trust and Prison Reform Trust but it’s not a populist cause at all.