Lucy Connolly
author; free speech advocate

Lucy Connolly was a quiet, hardworking mother and wife, working as a childminder, until her arrest in August 2024 changed her life forever.

In a moment of frustration and emotion, she posted a tweet that she later deleted just three hours later. Despite this, the post was widely shared and publicized, leading to her being charged under the Public Order Act. Lucy was remanded into custody and sentenced to 31 months in prison, serving 12.4 months.

Since her release, Lucy has unintentionally become a growing voice for prison reform and free speech. She is passionate about ensuring vulnerable people receive support before ending up unnecessarily incarcerated, and about exposing the human cost of a justice system she believes is increasingly punitive.

Lucy now advocates for the protection of free speech and warns against what she sees as the weaponization of speech laws. She believes speech cannot truly be considered free if it is used as grounds to silence or imprison individuals. She is the author of the book A Tweet Too Far. 

Folly Lucy on X: @LucyTCWife

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