Life in Strangeways: From Riots to Redemption, My Thirty-Two Years Behind Bars

A key player in the worst prison riot in British history at Strangeways Prison in April 1990, Alan Lord was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was drawn to trouble like water to a sponge. After experiencing a troubled childhood during which Alan was in and out of children’s homes—after being put into care at the tender age of 18 months old—Alan was a teenager in 1981 when he was sentenced to life in prison for murder during a robbery that had gone badly wrong. He served 32 years in various prisons throughout the United Kingdom. This book tells the truth of what goes on behind prison walls and exposes the level of inhumane treatment and brutality that Alan had to endure throughout his 32 year journey, during which he never stopped standing up for human rights. Fighting against the degrading prison system of the late 20th century, Alan helped change the historical humiliating slop out and weekly shower that hundreds of thousands of prisoners had to adhere to throughout the centuries. The battle came at a cost though as it meant more time behind bars, time spent mainly in the segregation unit. Powerfully detailing the way prisoners are treated on a daily basis, Life in Strangeways is a gripping tale that will change the perception of Alan Lord: convicted murderer and riot leader.

Alan Lord experienced a troubled childhood, and was an instigator of the Strangeway protests but has never stopped campaigning for human rights and prison reform. Now released, he runs a gym in Manchester for disadvantaged youths in the hope of encouraging them towards a more positive lifestyle.