Law and Rights
The passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (LASPO) through the Commons is almost complete with the report stage set for 31st October. It is therefore interesting that on 26th October, the Ministry of Justice announced further and very significant sentencing proposals which could be added to the Bill. They will be debated by the Commons next week and, if accepted, will be added to LASPO. In essence, the new proposals are aimed at replacing Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which was introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and which has proved to be exceptionally problematic. It therefore seems particularly unfortunate that, by introducing these proposals at a late stage, the Commons will have minimal time in which to consider them.
The statutory law is in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 Part 12 Chapter 5. The law was amended by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 sections 13-20.
The law as originally enacted in 2003 was considered by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in R v Lang [2005] EWCA Crim 2864 and, later, in R v Johnson and others [2006] EWCA Crim 2486. The law, as amended by the 2008 Act, was considered in C and others [2008] EWCA Crim 2790. (Other cases of interest include: Ashes [2007] EWCA Crim 1848; Wilkinson and others [2009] EWCA Crim 1925 and the "causing or allowing the death of a child" case of Owen [2009] EWCA Crim 2259).
A sentence for IPP is "indeterminate" in length. Release, after a specified minimum term has been served, is subject to the discretion of the Parole Board. The difficulties which some prisoners have encountered in this area have been the subject of litigation - for example, see the House of Lords judgment in Secretary of State for Justice v James [2009] UKHL 22 where Lord Hope of Craighead said:
Ministry of Justice proposals:
The Ministry's press release ("Tough Intelligent Sentencing") indicates that IPP will be replaced by a regime having the following features:-
Kenneth Clarke (Secretary of State for Justice) stated that:
'The new regime will restore clarity, coherence and common sense to sentencing, rid us of the inconsistent and confusing IPP regime and give victims a clearer understanding of how long offenders will actually serve in prison."
The detailed amendment proposals are set out in "Notices of amendment given on 26th October" (see 3627 at NC30) and they proceed, as is unfortunately usual, by the "cut and paste" technique. This makes it far from easy to see the full legislative scheme as it will be if and when enacted. In fact, in this instance, the amount of cutting and pasting required is very extensive. At this point, one interesting feature may be noted. It is a proposal to give the Secretary of State an "Henry VIII power" to alter the test for release on licence of certain prisoners - see NC34 here.
The passing of IPP will not be mourned. A fuller analysis of the proposals for its replacement will be necessary.
24th June 2010 ..... 11th July 2010 ..... 2nd November 2010
- R V Teret ~ "historical" Sexual Offending
The Judiciary website has published the sentencing remarks of Mr Justice Baker in the case of R v Teret. "Disc jockey" Ray Teret was well-known in the North West of England during the 1960s and 1970s. He has been sentenced to a total of 25 years...
- Supreme Court ~ Taking Into Account Strasbourg Decision But Not Bound
The Supreme Court judgment in R (Haney, Kaiyam and Massey) v Secretary of State for Justice and R (Robinson) v Governor of HMP Whatton and Secretary of State for Justice [2014] UKSC 66 concerns individuals who had been sentenced to Imprisonment for Public...
- Parole Board Decides Harry Roberts To Be Released
In 1966, at the Central Criminal Court, Harry Roberts was sentenced to life imprisonment for each of the murders of three Police Officers - Police Constable Geoffrey Fox, Detective Constable David Wombwell and Sergeant Christopher Head. The trial...
- Laspo - Part 3 Chapters 2 To 8
Part 3 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. deals with Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders. Part 3 divides into 9 Chapters which cover a very considerable range of criminal justice issues: 1. Sentencing; 2. Bail; 3. Remands...
- Even More Fisticuffs With Europe Is Likely ... Whole Life Tariffs For Murder Under Challenge
The Press Association (26th February) - "Killers contest whole life tariff" - is the claim being made in the European Court of Human Rights by three men - Jeremy Bamber, Peter Moore and Douglas Vinter - who are serving "whole life tariffs" for murder. ...
Law and Rights
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill - further amendments and a bit of Henry VIII
Imprisonment for Public Protection:
The statutory law is in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 Part 12 Chapter 5. The law was amended by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 sections 13-20.
The law as originally enacted in 2003 was considered by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in R v Lang [2005] EWCA Crim 2864 and, later, in R v Johnson and others [2006] EWCA Crim 2486. The law, as amended by the 2008 Act, was considered in C and others [2008] EWCA Crim 2790. (Other cases of interest include: Ashes [2007] EWCA Crim 1848; Wilkinson and others [2009] EWCA Crim 1925 and the "causing or allowing the death of a child" case of Owen [2009] EWCA Crim 2259).
A sentence for IPP is "indeterminate" in length. Release, after a specified minimum term has been served, is subject to the discretion of the Parole Board. The difficulties which some prisoners have encountered in this area have been the subject of litigation - for example, see the House of Lords judgment in Secretary of State for Justice v James [2009] UKHL 22 where Lord Hope of Craighead said:
"There is no doubt that the Secretary of State failed deplorably in the public law duty that he must be taken to have accepted when he persuaded Parliament to introduce indeterminate sentences for public protection (?IPPs?) by section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. He failed to provide the systems and resources that prisoners serving those sentences needed to demonstrate to the Parole Board by the time of the expiry of their tariff periods, or reasonably soon thereafter, that it was no longer necessary for the protection of the public that they should remain in detention."
His Lordship then noted that the Secretary of State accepted that it was implicit in the statutory scheme of sections 224 and 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 that he would make provision which allowed IPP prisoners a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate to the Parole Board that they should be released.
A useful report about IPP was issued in 2010 by the Prison Reform Trust.
See also the excellent article in Criminal Law and Justice Weekly 31st July 2010 which examines IPP in detail including the problems which had arisen in connection with release once the minimum period has been served.
A useful report about IPP was issued in 2010 by the Prison Reform Trust.
See also the excellent article in Criminal Law and Justice Weekly 31st July 2010 which examines IPP in detail including the problems which had arisen in connection with release once the minimum period has been served.
Ministry of Justice proposals:
The Ministry's press release ("Tough Intelligent Sentencing") indicates that IPP will be replaced by a regime having the following features:-
- Mandatory life sentences - a ?two strikes? policy so that a mandatory life sentence will be given to anyone convicted of a second very serious sexual or violent crime. This will mean that mandatory life sentences can be given for crimes other than murder
- Extending the category of the most serious sexual and violent offences to include child sex offences, terrorism offences and ?causing or allowing the death of a child? so that the new provisions will apply to them
- The Extended Determinate Sentence (EDS) ? all dangerous criminals convicted of serious sexual and violent crimes will be imprisoned for at least two thirds of their sentence, marking an end to the regime which allowed the release of these offenders at the half-way point. Offenders convicted of the most serious sexual and violent crimes in this category will not be released before the end of their sentence without Parole Board approval
- Extended licence period ? criminals who complete an EDS must then serve extended licence periods where they will be closely monitored and returned to prison if necessary. The courts have the power to give up to an extra five years of licence for violent offenders and eight years for sexual offenders on top of their prison sentence
Kenneth Clarke (Secretary of State for Justice) stated that:
'The new regime will restore clarity, coherence and common sense to sentencing, rid us of the inconsistent and confusing IPP regime and give victims a clearer understanding of how long offenders will actually serve in prison."
The detailed amendment proposals are set out in "Notices of amendment given on 26th October" (see 3627 at NC30) and they proceed, as is unfortunately usual, by the "cut and paste" technique. This makes it far from easy to see the full legislative scheme as it will be if and when enacted. In fact, in this instance, the amount of cutting and pasting required is very extensive. At this point, one interesting feature may be noted. It is a proposal to give the Secretary of State an "Henry VIII power" to alter the test for release on licence of certain prisoners - see NC34 here.
The passing of IPP will not be mourned. A fuller analysis of the proposals for its replacement will be necessary.
Earlier Law and Lawyers posts relating to IPP:
24th June 2010 ..... 11th July 2010 ..... 2nd November 2010
- R V Teret ~ "historical" Sexual Offending
The Judiciary website has published the sentencing remarks of Mr Justice Baker in the case of R v Teret. "Disc jockey" Ray Teret was well-known in the North West of England during the 1960s and 1970s. He has been sentenced to a total of 25 years...
- Supreme Court ~ Taking Into Account Strasbourg Decision But Not Bound
The Supreme Court judgment in R (Haney, Kaiyam and Massey) v Secretary of State for Justice and R (Robinson) v Governor of HMP Whatton and Secretary of State for Justice [2014] UKSC 66 concerns individuals who had been sentenced to Imprisonment for Public...
- Parole Board Decides Harry Roberts To Be Released
In 1966, at the Central Criminal Court, Harry Roberts was sentenced to life imprisonment for each of the murders of three Police Officers - Police Constable Geoffrey Fox, Detective Constable David Wombwell and Sergeant Christopher Head. The trial...
- Laspo - Part 3 Chapters 2 To 8
Part 3 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. deals with Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders. Part 3 divides into 9 Chapters which cover a very considerable range of criminal justice issues: 1. Sentencing; 2. Bail; 3. Remands...
- Even More Fisticuffs With Europe Is Likely ... Whole Life Tariffs For Murder Under Challenge
The Press Association (26th February) - "Killers contest whole life tariff" - is the claim being made in the European Court of Human Rights by three men - Jeremy Bamber, Peter Moore and Douglas Vinter - who are serving "whole life tariffs" for murder. ...