Dr Martin Wright

Andrea Coomber, CEO of the Howard League, reflects on the death of Dr Martin Wright, torchbearer for penal reform and restorative justice:

Everyone at the Howard League is saddened to learn of the death of Dr Martin Wright, a former director of the charity and a torchbearer for penal reform and restorative justice.

Martin, who led the Howard League from 1971 to 1982 and was a trustee from 1984 to 2003, enjoyed a long and varied career, including time spent as a prison visitor, a librarian at the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge, and a policy officer for Victim Support. He was a founding member of the Restorative Justice Council.

He was also a fantastic speaker. In 2023, we were honoured to hold an event at City, University of London, where we celebrated Martin's achievements and heard his last public speech, titled 'What's wrong with criminal justice?' The text can be read in full on our website, reproduced with Martin's permission.

We are grateful to Martin for his kindness, vision and dedication, and we shall miss him.

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.)
Chief Executive

Image from European Forum for Restorative Justice