I am in my sixties, and, though I’ve been out two years now, I’ve served 33 years in prison. I was a lifer, and lifers never have cell mates – they’re always alone. I was in first in the early 1980s. There was no TV in them days, so I was just staring at the four walls.

My cell was about 10ft x 4ft, and I could just about see the sky. It was as though once the guard shut the cell door, the outside world disappeared. It was often very cold, so I’d get into bed with my one blanket and try to sleep. Often I cried myself to sleep.