Eddie Flanagan on his experience of English prisons

Eddie has spent a total of 20 years in prisons in England for different offences but hasn’t committed a crime in over 16 years now. Eddie now does work in some prisons in England. In this episode he speaks about the impact of the new psychoactive substances (NPS) in prison known as Spice, the importance of utilising people with lived experience in prisons and the importance of education in prison. Eddie shares about how he feels education is not as readily available as it was when he was inside and the impact this can have on people in prison. Eddie was diagnosed within education in prison of having dyslexia at the age of 30. This was a turning point for him and he worries there will be individuals in prison who are dyslexic but not diagnosed, and the impact this can have on them.  Eddie uses his love for art and digital creation to share his story of abuse, addiction and criminality in the hope he can help people who have had similar experiences to him. You can see some of the work that Eddie now does here.