LIBERTY CHOIR 7 6 LIBERTY CHOIR “The light and love shown by the Liberty Choir quite honestly saved me” Only 2.8% of Liberty Choir Graduates have reoffended compared to the national average of 48% In late 2025, the charity was awarded the Longford Prize - the highest accolade in the criminal justice system - for our “courage, persistence, humanity and originality.” We are on the move, both in terms of our expansion into more prisons in new regions but also in the services we provide and initiatives which bring our graduates into the fold of our organisation. This year is a pivotal one for us as we explore the first steps towards a national model; we hope that you will be part of it. It is our belief that no-one should be thrown away because of the worst thing they have done in their lives, and that prisons are full of people with limitless potential which we are committed to unlocking. When MJ was 45, a close relative took his own life. George had become a heroin addict to quieten the demons which had haunted him since childhood. MJ and her then partner had brought up his children to prevent them from being taken into care. George went in and out of rehab and in and out of prison. “He really tried,” MJ says, “but he was a house painter always working on his own and attending meetings with fellow addicts - never meeting new people and being part of a different community which could have given him a lifeline and hope.” MJ felt sure that if George could have lived his life some other way - exposure to a different environment, new interests and a fresh circle of people who accepted and cared for her brother-inlaw without judgment - he would have stood a chance of believing he had a future, and of seeing his sons grown up and of being a part of his grandchildren’s lives, too. He could have led a long life filled with purpose and joy. There are so many people like George in prison. There were 79 deaths by suicide in prisons in England and Wales in 2025. And 74,521 cases of self-harm. Self-harm rates in women’s prisons are eight times higher than in men’s, with a record of 97 deaths in the past decade, and women in prisons are ten times more likely to die by suicide than the general female population. Many prisoners are trapped in a perpetual revolving door that takes them in and out of prison – though some find it even harder to cope when they are released than when they are inside. Frazer Trought, to whom we dedicate this brochure with the blessing of his widow Annalise, was one of them. We met Frazer not long after Liberty Choir was launched in HMP Coldingley in March 2022. He had run an art gallery in London and was passionate about music and creativity. Frazer was a regular in the choir and worked closely with another musician, Mark, and the two singers set up a small recording studio close to the chapel in which we rehearsed every week. Frazer’s funeral was held in February 2026 at the large church of St Gabriel’s in Pimlico. It was packed with people, including those of us who had met him in prison. One of the speakers who had known his friend since childhood in the area, said even then “Frazer had an aura before aura was a thing.” How true; when Frazer smiled the room lit up. What an indictment of our failings as a society that Frazer was able to survive ten years in prison but not even ten months when he re-entered society despite having a home, a job, a loving partner and children. He constantly sought help from the NHS and even tried to admit himself to hospital when the voices in his head became unbearable. The day he took his life, 20 January 2026, the voices won and a precious life was lost. We are working on a raft of measures to draw attention to the mental health challenges that prisoners and graduates face. Our suggestions for improvements will be drawn from our Ambassadors with lived experience, our graduates, as well as the new Liberty Choir Advisory Council whose members all have direct knowledge of prison. We will be working with partners who have the expertise to ensure that someone who was suffering as Frazer was will get help sooner and receive the support that he so desperately needed. We are determined that Frazer will not have died in vain. This is the first time in our 12-year-history that one of our graduates’ stories has ended so tragically and it has hit us hard. Our graduates tell us that Liberty Choir was a lifeline to them in prison and when they came out. It takes a long time to recover from the trauma, shame and guilt of an often-brutal regime, and to build up the confidence to function again when it has been stripped away. But there are many stories in our history which are also uplifting. Like Ross who attended our very first session at HMP Wandsworth on 1 April 2014. He discovered his voice in prison with Liberty Choir - never even knowing he could sing. He started writing songs, learnt how to play the guitar and has now released his second album with his band Rosko Piko. Ross and his wife, Vicky, are Ambassadors of Liberty Choir and have fundraised for the charity every year for the past ten years. Ross became a musical mentor to Kerry (see page 18), enabling her to write a song with a professional singer, drawn from her life, and perform it on stage in front of an audience and for a documentary. Richie, a revolving door prisoner who had never had more than one Christmas out in the community, has now celebrated 12, reunited with all his family. As his son Ricardo says, “My children have only known their grandfather as a free man.” Roy (see page 17), went into music management and a juicing business, turning his back on a lifetime of crime driven by a drug habit. A young man, Paul, who we met at HMP Brixton said he would come to choir on a date night with his girlfriend when he got out of prison, and they now come regularly. Kris invited the founders and his favourite volunteer to his wedding in Blackpool where Liberty Choir represented his only family; he was suicidal but is now happily married and creating music tracks that are being played on international radio stations. Stu (see page 22) is thriving as a chef with his own high-end catering business. Thai is crime-free and worked first as a painter-decorator and is now in the hospitality business. Ian (see cover and page 13) has had his flat kitted out with donations from other graduates and choir members and is working full time at the prisoners’ rehabilitation business Redemption Roasters. We are in touch with more than 130 graduates who are living fulfilling lives. Could you work with us, so our graduates become the best version of themselves, make a difference to their lives, their families’ lives and all our lives, too? Will you help us turn a sad story into one filled with joy? mj paranzino and ginny dougary 2025 Launched at HMP East Sutton Park in Kent & won the Longford Prize 2021 Created Six Building Blocks of Modern Music with National Prison Radio 2026 Launched at HMP Guys Marsh in Dorset, our first prison in the southwest 2022 48 Songs: How Music Saved my Life aired in 100+ prisons on NPR 2023 Returned to prisons after COVID at Brixton, Send & Coldingley 2024 Now in 10 prisons & celebrated 10th Anniversary 2020 Launched Liberty Choir Radio on Radio Wanno at HMP Wandsworth
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