§ Mr. McENTEEasked the Home Secretary whether he will consider arranging for the removal of Mrs. Olive Wise, of Walthamstow, from Holloway Gaol to some private maternity home during the period of her confinement; whether he will give further sympathetic consideration to her case, with a view to her early release from prison; whether he will give consideration to the present state of the law, with a view to its modification, so that in future any female prisoner who is convicted of murder should not be sentenced to death if it is proved that she is pregnant; and will he consider whether any amendment of the existing law is necessary to enable judges to assess the responsibility of the man in such cases and to ensure that where such responsibility is proved the woman will not be forced to bear all the punishment?
§ Mr. SHORTAs my hon. Friend is aware, the sentence of death in this case has already, on the recommendation of my right hon. Friend, been commuted to penal servitude, and in due course my right hon. Friend will consider very carefully whether, having regard to all the circumstances, he would be justified in recommending further clemency. He is advised that there is no power to order the removal of Mrs. Wise to a private maternity home during the period of her confinement. Proper provision is made in prison for the treatment of such prisoners and for their necessary care. With regard to the third part of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given yesterday in answer to a question by the hon. Member for Devonport (Mr. Hore-Belisha). The last part of the question raises considerations of a far reaching character with which it is impossible to deal within the limits of an answer to a question, and my right hon. Friend will write to my hon. Friend in the matter.