A dad has been kept in prison for almost three years, despite being cleared of GBH by a law court.
Now Ishuba Salmon's fight for freedom has sparked a campaign and petition.
It's reignited the intense debate surrounding IPP - Imprisonment for Public Protection - sentences, reports Birmingham Live.
They deny criminals thought to be a menace the right to be released after their jail term has been served.
Former armed robber Salmon has felt the full force of IPP, officially scrapped a decade ago.
There are many more inmates incarcerated by its far-reaching powers.
Some feel society is best served by denying the 43-year-old his liberty.
Others are adamant Salmon's treatment flies in the face of British justice's "commit the crime, serve the time" benchmark.
The father-of-one was sentenced to four years and four months in 2006 for conspiracy to rob.
He and accomplices were seen in a car with balaclavas and a gun.
Under the strict IPP criteria Salmon, whose previous offences include serious assault, was not released until 2018.
That’s three times the term ordered by a judge.
Within a year-and-a-half, he was back in custody on remand after being accused, along with his father Arnold, of grievous bodily harm and breaching the terms of his IPP licence.
The arrests followed an attack in Handsworth on December 23, 2019.
Salmon was arrested on February 4 of the following year and returned to prison two days later.
At their Birmingham Crown Court trial in January last year, the prosecution offered no evidence and the pair were found not guilty of GBH.
Yet Salmon remains locked-up for breaching his licence. He will now not be freed until he has convinced a parole board he no longer poses a threat.
Dad Arnold claims simply being arrested for the assault his son was cleared of constituted a breach of strict IPP rules. The Ministry of Justice has declined to comment.
The 62-year-old from Birmingham’s tough Lozells district said: “Because of IPP, they put him back in custody. Close to three years he’s been inside, despite being proven innocent.
“I didn’t even know that was allowed. I didn’t know they had that power.
"I honestly don’t know what they want, but they have to release him. He’s getting frustrated in there and thinks they just want him locked away for good.
“He has a daughter aged 15 who he has spent only two years of her life with.”
He added: “My son has never posed a problem to the general public because he’s never gone out attacking people willy-nilly. The majority of offences were committed when he was a juvenile.”
The Salmon family’s campaign has now been taken up by Desmond Jaddoo, a bishop and community activist.
His change.org petition for Salmon’s release has currently gathered 550 signatures.
Mr Jaddoo said: “The parole board seems to be acting as judge, jury and executioner. I believe they are doing this in an attempt to regain credibility, but you do not regain credibility through injustice - and, of course, this is an injustice.
“Ishuba Salmon was exonerated by a court of law, which is the appropriate authority. Reform is at the very heart of our judicial system. You are punished, serve the time and, hopefully, emerge from prison with the opportunity to start afresh.
"Ishuba has worked since being released and was getting on with his life. He was a personal fitness trainer and attended university where he was studying to be a computer technician.
“Under IPP, someone flytipping can be thrown in prison with no idea when he will be released. Can any of us be comfortable with that?”
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “Mr Salmon was recalled to prison because he breached his licence conditions showing an increased risk to the public. It now falls to the parole board to decide if he is safe to be released again.
“The number of IPP prisoners has fallen by two-thirds since 2012 and we are continuing to help those still in custody to progress towards release.”
By September 30 this year there were 1,437 prisoners serving IPP sentences. When the system was scrapped in 2012, there were 6,000.
Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 the Secretary of State is required to automatically refer IPP offenders to the parole board for consideration to have their licence scrapped where 10 years has elapsed since their first release.
