Govt rules mean killers spend too long in jail
England’s most senior judge has said government policy means murderers are spending too much time in prison.
Lord chief justice Phillips said the end result of the increasing prevalence of minimum sentences means prisons will be filled with “geriatric lifers” in the years to come.
“If sentences are to be just, then the effect of mitigating and aggravating factors should be very significant, so that sentences fill the spectrum between these two starting points,” the he said in a speech at University of Birmingham.
“I am not sure that in practice they do, and I believe that the starting points are having the effect of ratcheting up sentences in a manner that will be regretted many years hence.”
The judge also questions whether life sentences should be mandatory for those found guilty of murder.
“I’m not in favour of mandatory sentences full stop,” he said.
Changes to the law in the 2003 Criminal Justice Act could result in serious problems in the prisons in the future, Lord Phillips warned
“In 30 years’ time, the prisons will be full of geriatric lifers,” he said.
And he was concerned policy was being led by political fads and not in the interest of justice.
“The law of murder is a political hot potato and legislative slots tend to go to legislation that appears to have more immediate practical implications,” Lord Phillips said.
The government has consistently raised or imposed minimum sentences for specific crimes in response to public concerns.
In 2005 the Home Office said it was committed to mandatory life sentences.
“Whatever happens, we will not compromise on the mandatory life sentence for murder and the murder principles as set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will continue to stand,” a spokesman said.
But the Liberal Democrats have said the government should not dismiss Lord Phillips’ comments out of hand.
“The public wants sentencing which fits the crime and does what it says – at the moment neither happens,” Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said.
“There is a world of difference between a woman who has been physically abused by her husband for a lifetime and lashes out against him with a kitchen knife and a sadistic murderer who kills an innocent victim. These circumstances must be reflected in different sentences.”
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