Life imprisonment (England and Wales)
Encyclopedia
In England and Wales
, life imprisonment
is a sentence which lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for parole
(officially termed "early release") after a fixed period set by the judge. This period is known as the "minimum term" (previously known as the "tariff"). In some exceptionally grave cases however, a judge may order that a life sentence should mean life by making a "whole life order."
Murder
has carried a mandatory life sentence in England and Wales
since capital punishment
was suspended in 1965. There is currently no "first degree" or "second degree" murder definition. However there were two degrees of murder between 1957 and 1965
, and there have recently been plans to introduce such a definition.
Life imprisonment is only applicable to defendants aged 21 or over. Those aged between 18 and 20 are sentenced to custody for life. Those aged under 18 are sentenced to detention during Her Majesty's pleasure for murder, or detention for life for other crimes where life imprisonment is the sentence for adults. However people under 21 may not be sentenced to a whole life order, and so must become eligible for parole.
In addition to the sentences mentioned above are two other kinds of life sentence, imprisonment for public protection
(for those over 18) and detention for public protection (for those under 18). These are for defendants whose crimes are not serious enough to merit a normal life sentence, but who are a danger to the public and so should not be released until the Parole Board decides they no longer represent a risk. Consequently a whole life order is not available for either of these sentences. (See Criminal Justice Act 2003 for details.)
in the terms of the Homicide Act 1957
, it was fairly common for those sentenced to life to be released in around ten to fifteen years. After the death penalty was abolished, it came to be seen as necessary for longer sentences to be imposed, especially in cases such as the Moors Murders
and the Massacre of Braybrook Street
. An additional factor leading to longer incarceration was that the average natural lifespan of the British population has grown at the same time as very long sentences have been implemented in the absence of the death penalty.
reserved the right to set the "tariff" or minimum length of term for prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment. However in November 2000 politicians were stripped of this power in relation to defendants aged under 18, following an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights by the murderers of James Bulger
.
In November 2002 a similar decision in relation to adult offenders followed a successful challenge by convicted double murderer Anthony Anderson
. Anderson had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1988 with a recommended minimum term of 15 years, but the Home Secretary later informed him that he would have to serve at least 20 years. The House of Lords
ruled that this was incompatible with his human rights
. This judgment was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights
. Since then, judges have set minimum terms and only the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
can make any amendments to the sentence. Though politicians can no longer decide how long a life sentence prisoner spends behind bars, the Attorney General
still has the power to petition the Court of Appeal in a bid to increase any prison terms which are seen as unduly lenient.
The Criminal Justice Act 2003
set out guidelines for how long murderers should spend in prison before being considered for parole. Judges are not obliged to follow the guidelines, but must give reasons if they depart from them. The guidelines recommended that multiple murders (the murder of two or more people) whose crimes involved sexual abuse, pre-planning, abduction or terrorism should never be released from prison, which is known as a "whole life order", while other multiple murders (two or more) should carry a recommended minimum of 30 years as a starting point sentence prior to consideration of additional aggravating factors and of any mitigating factors. A 30-year minimum should also apply to the worst single murders, including those with sexual or racial motives, the use of a firearm as well as the murder of police officers. Most other murders should be subject to a 15-year minimum as a starting point. Inevitably, there have been numerous departures from these guidelines since they were first put into practice. For example, the judge who sentenced David Bieber
for the murder of a police officer ordered that he should never be released from prison, whereas statutory guidelines recommended a 30-year minimum for such crimes. On 23 July 2008, Bieber was told by the High Court that he would not have to serve a full life sentence, as originally recommended by the trial judge, but would still have to serve a minimum of 37 years before being considered for parole, meaning that he is set to remain in prison until at least 2041 and the age of 75. And in the case of Mark Goldstraw, who killed four people in an arson attack on a house in Staffordshire
, the trial judge set a recommended minimum of 35 years. As the crime included planning and resulted in the deaths of four people, it might have been expected to come under a category of killings which merited a whole life term.
agrees to release a prisoner who was sentenced to life, he or she is released on a life licence. Prisoners who break the conditions of their release, or who are found to be a danger to the public, can be immediately re-incarcerated under the terms of this licence.
In England and Wales, the average sentence is about 15 years before the first parole hearing, although those convicted of exceptionally grave crimes remain behind bars for considerably longer; Ian Huntley was given a minimum term of 40 years. Some receive whole life orders and die in prison, such as Myra Hindley. Various media sources estimate that there are currently between 35 and 50 prisoners in England and Wales who have been issued with whole life tariffs or whole life orders, issued by either the High Court
or the Home Office
. These include Ian Brady
, Donald Neilson
, Dennis Nilsen
and Robert Black
.
For England and Wales, the law regarding release on licence of prisoners is laid out in chapter 2 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (see in particular sections 28–30). This Act was amended and updated by the Criminal Justice Act 2003
chapters 6 and 7.
For Scotland, the law is set out in the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, as amended in relation to life prisoners by the Convention Rights (Compliance) (Scotland) Act 2001, which incorporated changes to ensure that the procedure is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights
.
, a minimum term (formerly "tariff") is the minimum period that a person serving an indefinite sentence must serve before that person becomes eligible for parole. The sentencing judge bears responsibility for setting the minimum term.
The purpose of this mechanism has been described as follows:
The factors involved in the determination of a tariff were contested in the 1993 case of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, two boys around ten years old who were convicted of the murder of two-year-old James Bulger
. Although the trial judge sentenced the killers to eight years in prison each, the Home Secretary (then Michael Howard
) set a tariff of fifteen years, based in part on the public outcry over the murders. The House of Lords
overturned this tariff, criticizing the Home Secretary for giving too much weight to public opinion. As discussed above, the Home Secretary lost this power in 2002.
A similar system operates in Scotland, whereby the trial judge fixes a "punishment part" to "satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence". The prisoner cannot be considered for parole until this punishment part is served.
. It came into force in 1983 when the Home Secretary began to set minimum terms that convicted killers had to serve before being considered for release on life licence. The intention of a whole life tariff was for a prisoner to spend an entire lifetime behind bars without ever being released, unless there were exceptional circumstances for a prisoner to go free. Trial judges were entitled to recommend that a life sentence prisoner's tariff would mean life, though in many cases the trial judge had recommended that an offender could be considered for parole after a number of years, only for the Home Secretary to later impose a whole life tariff.
The question of whether a Home Secretary should have the power to impose whole life tariffs is a controversial one since a decision to impose such a sanction (or not) can carry political consequences for the Home Secretary and, by extension, the government he serves. In 2002, a successful legal challenge by convicted double murderer Anthony Anderson
saw the Home Secretary stripped of the final say on how long a life sentence prisoner must serve before parole can be considered - as well as the right to decide that certain prisoners should never be released.
The law was subsequently changed so that the trial judge was obliged to recommend a minimum number of years (or recommend that life should mean life) in the case of anyone being sentenced to life imprisonment, and that the final say rested with the High Court
rather than the Home Secretary.
Only the Home Secretary can grant a release to a prisoner sentenced to a whole life tariff or whole life order, on compassionate grounds due to great age or infirmity. Only four prisoners known or believed to have been issued with a whole life tariff have been released on compassionate grounds. Three of them were IRA
members who were freed under the Good Friday Agreement in 1999. The other was gang member Reggie Kray, freed from his life sentence in 2000 after serving 32 years, due to terminal cancer. He died within weeks of release.
Since whole life tariffs were introduced, the law has stated that defendants aged under 21 years cannot be subjected to such a recommendation or order.
Around 50 prisoners have been issued with whole life tariffs or orders since the mechanism was first introduced in 1983, although some of them were convicted of their crimes before that date and some of the prisoners known to have been issued with the whole life tariff have since died in prison.
announced that it was considering whether it is a contravention of human rights for someone to be sentenced to lifelong imprisonment. This news was made public just after David Bieber
was due to lodge an appeal against the trial judge's recommendation that he should never be released from prison. His appeal was due to have been heard at this time, but was delayed due to this uncertainty as to whether lifelong imprisonment will remain lawful. If the European judges rule that lifelong imprisonment is a violation of human rights, all prisoners serving whole life orders will have their cases recalled to the courts for a new minimum term to be set. Such a ruling would be highly controversial in many other European countries where the option for whole-life sentences exists, as some European states have whole-life sentences, whereas others do not. For instance in the Netherlands, when a life sentence is passed, it is always intended to mean "life" and as such there is no possibility for parole. So far, just two Dutch life sentence prisoners have been freed, and it was due to terminal illness in both cases. In Spain, on the other hand, the maximum time anyone can serve in prison is 40 years.
A high proportion of prisoners who are unlikely to ever be released or have received very long sentences have declared their wish to die; for example, Ian Brady. At least two such inmates have committed suicide in prison - Harold Shipman
and Daniel Gonzalez
.
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
, life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
is a sentence which lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
(officially termed "early release") after a fixed period set by the judge. This period is known as the "minimum term" (previously known as the "tariff"). In some exceptionally grave cases however, a judge may order that a life sentence should mean life by making a "whole life order."
Murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
has carried a mandatory life sentence in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
since capital punishment
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from the creation of the state in 1707 until the practice was abolished in the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom, by hanging, took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder...
was suspended in 1965. There is currently no "first degree" or "second degree" murder definition. However there were two degrees of murder between 1957 and 1965
Homicide Act 1957
The Homicide Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was enacted as a partial reform of the common law offence of murder in English law by abolishing the doctrine of constructive malice , reforming the partial defence of provocation, and by introducing the partial defences...
, and there have recently been plans to introduce such a definition.
Life imprisonment is only applicable to defendants aged 21 or over. Those aged between 18 and 20 are sentenced to custody for life. Those aged under 18 are sentenced to detention during Her Majesty's pleasure for murder, or detention for life for other crimes where life imprisonment is the sentence for adults. However people under 21 may not be sentenced to a whole life order, and so must become eligible for parole.
In addition to the sentences mentioned above are two other kinds of life sentence, imprisonment for public protection
Imprisonment for public protection
In the United Kingdom, Indeterminate Public Protection prison sentences are a form of indeterminate sentence...
(for those over 18) and detention for public protection (for those under 18). These are for defendants whose crimes are not serious enough to merit a normal life sentence, but who are a danger to the public and so should not be released until the Parole Board decides they no longer represent a risk. Consequently a whole life order is not available for either of these sentences. (See Criminal Justice Act 2003 for details.)
History
When life imprisonment gradually replaced the death penalty as punishment for murderers, firstly for those whose sentences were commuted and later for those whose crimes were not aggravatedAggravation (legal concept)
Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself."...
in the terms of the Homicide Act 1957
Homicide Act 1957
The Homicide Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was enacted as a partial reform of the common law offence of murder in English law by abolishing the doctrine of constructive malice , reforming the partial defence of provocation, and by introducing the partial defences...
, it was fairly common for those sentenced to life to be released in around ten to fifteen years. After the death penalty was abolished, it came to be seen as necessary for longer sentences to be imposed, especially in cases such as the Moors Murders
Moors murders
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around what is now Greater Manchester, England. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans—at least...
and the Massacre of Braybrook Street
Massacre of Braybrook Street
The Shepherd's Bush murders, also known as the Massacre of Braybrook Street, was the murder of three police officers in London by Harry Roberts and two others in 1966....
. An additional factor leading to longer incarceration was that the average natural lifespan of the British population has grown at the same time as very long sentences have been implemented in the absence of the death penalty.
The Criminal Justice Act 2003
Formerly, the Home SecretaryHome Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
reserved the right to set the "tariff" or minimum length of term for prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment. However in November 2000 politicians were stripped of this power in relation to defendants aged under 18, following an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights by the murderers of James Bulger
Murder of James Bulger
James Patrick Bulger was a boy from Kirkby, England, who was murdered on 12 February 1993, when aged two. He was abducted, tortured and murdered by two ten-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables .Bulger disappeared from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, near Liverpool, while...
.
In November 2002 a similar decision in relation to adult offenders followed a successful challenge by convicted double murderer Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson (murderer)
Anthony Anderson is a convicted British murderer.He is most notable for successfully challenging the Home Secretary's powers to set minimum terms for life sentence prisoners...
. Anderson had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1988 with a recommended minimum term of 15 years, but the Home Secretary later informed him that he would have to serve at least 20 years. The House of Lords
Judicial functions of the House of Lords
The House of Lords, in addition to having a legislative function, historically also had a judicial function. It functioned as a court of first instance for the trials of peers, for impeachment cases, and as a court of last resort within the United Kingdom. In the latter case the House's...
ruled that this was incompatible with his human rights
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
. This judgment was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
. Since then, judges have set minimum terms and only the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the supreme court in all matters under English law, Northern Ireland law and Scottish civil law. It is the court of last resort and highest appellate court in the United Kingdom; however the High Court of Justiciary remains the supreme court for criminal...
can make any amendments to the sentence. Though politicians can no longer decide how long a life sentence prisoner spends behind bars, the Attorney General
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
still has the power to petition the Court of Appeal in a bid to increase any prison terms which are seen as unduly lenient.
The Criminal Justice Act 2003
Criminal Justice Act 2003
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland....
set out guidelines for how long murderers should spend in prison before being considered for parole. Judges are not obliged to follow the guidelines, but must give reasons if they depart from them. The guidelines recommended that multiple murders (the murder of two or more people) whose crimes involved sexual abuse, pre-planning, abduction or terrorism should never be released from prison, which is known as a "whole life order", while other multiple murders (two or more) should carry a recommended minimum of 30 years as a starting point sentence prior to consideration of additional aggravating factors and of any mitigating factors. A 30-year minimum should also apply to the worst single murders, including those with sexual or racial motives, the use of a firearm as well as the murder of police officers. Most other murders should be subject to a 15-year minimum as a starting point. Inevitably, there have been numerous departures from these guidelines since they were first put into practice. For example, the judge who sentenced David Bieber
David Bieber
David Francis Bieber also known under the alias Nathan Wayne Coleman is an American convicted murderer. A fugitive from the United States, he murdered PC Ian Broadhurst and attempted to murder PCs Neil Roper and James Banks on 26 December 2003 in Leeds, England, sparking a nationwide search...
for the murder of a police officer ordered that he should never be released from prison, whereas statutory guidelines recommended a 30-year minimum for such crimes. On 23 July 2008, Bieber was told by the High Court that he would not have to serve a full life sentence, as originally recommended by the trial judge, but would still have to serve a minimum of 37 years before being considered for parole, meaning that he is set to remain in prison until at least 2041 and the age of 75. And in the case of Mark Goldstraw, who killed four people in an arson attack on a house in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, the trial judge set a recommended minimum of 35 years. As the crime included planning and resulted in the deaths of four people, it might have been expected to come under a category of killings which merited a whole life term.
Parole
A prisoner who has served their minimum term becomes eligible for parole. If the Parole BoardParole Board for England and Wales
The Parole Board for England and Wales was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act of 1967. It became an independent executive non-departmental public body on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Parole Board's role is to make risk assessments about...
agrees to release a prisoner who was sentenced to life, he or she is released on a life licence. Prisoners who break the conditions of their release, or who are found to be a danger to the public, can be immediately re-incarcerated under the terms of this licence.
In England and Wales, the average sentence is about 15 years before the first parole hearing, although those convicted of exceptionally grave crimes remain behind bars for considerably longer; Ian Huntley was given a minimum term of 40 years. Some receive whole life orders and die in prison, such as Myra Hindley. Various media sources estimate that there are currently between 35 and 50 prisoners in England and Wales who have been issued with whole life tariffs or whole life orders, issued by either the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
or the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. These include Ian Brady
Moors murders
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around what is now Greater Manchester, England. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans—at least...
, Donald Neilson
Donald Neilson
Donald Neilson is a British multiple murderer and armed robber...
, Dennis Nilsen
Dennis Nilsen
Dennis Andrew Nilsen also known as the Muswell Hill Murderer and the Kindly Killer is a British serial killer who lived in London....
and Robert Black
Robert Black (serial killer)
Robert Black is a Scottish paedophile serial killer convicted of the kidnap and murder of four girls between the ages of 5 and 11 between 1981 and 1986 in the United Kingdom. He was convicted of sexually assaulting one of the girls and of raping the other three...
.
For England and Wales, the law regarding release on licence of prisoners is laid out in chapter 2 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (see in particular sections 28–30). This Act was amended and updated by the Criminal Justice Act 2003
Criminal Justice Act 2003
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland....
chapters 6 and 7.
For Scotland, the law is set out in the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, as amended in relation to life prisoners by the Convention Rights (Compliance) (Scotland) Act 2001, which incorporated changes to ensure that the procedure is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
.
Minimum term
Under the criminal law of England and WalesEngland and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
, a minimum term (formerly "tariff") is the minimum period that a person serving an indefinite sentence must serve before that person becomes eligible for parole. The sentencing judge bears responsibility for setting the minimum term.
The purpose of this mechanism has been described as follows:
The factors involved in the determination of a tariff were contested in the 1993 case of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, two boys around ten years old who were convicted of the murder of two-year-old James Bulger
Murder of James Bulger
James Patrick Bulger was a boy from Kirkby, England, who was murdered on 12 February 1993, when aged two. He was abducted, tortured and murdered by two ten-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables .Bulger disappeared from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, near Liverpool, while...
. Although the trial judge sentenced the killers to eight years in prison each, the Home Secretary (then Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
) set a tariff of fifteen years, based in part on the public outcry over the murders. The House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
overturned this tariff, criticizing the Home Secretary for giving too much weight to public opinion. As discussed above, the Home Secretary lost this power in 2002.
A similar system operates in Scotland, whereby the trial judge fixes a "punishment part" to "satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence". The prisoner cannot be considered for parole until this punishment part is served.
Whole life order
The whole life order or whole life tariff is a mechanism whereby a prisoner is sentenced to remain in prison until his or her deathLife imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. It came into force in 1983 when the Home Secretary began to set minimum terms that convicted killers had to serve before being considered for release on life licence. The intention of a whole life tariff was for a prisoner to spend an entire lifetime behind bars without ever being released, unless there were exceptional circumstances for a prisoner to go free. Trial judges were entitled to recommend that a life sentence prisoner's tariff would mean life, though in many cases the trial judge had recommended that an offender could be considered for parole after a number of years, only for the Home Secretary to later impose a whole life tariff.
The question of whether a Home Secretary should have the power to impose whole life tariffs is a controversial one since a decision to impose such a sanction (or not) can carry political consequences for the Home Secretary and, by extension, the government he serves. In 2002, a successful legal challenge by convicted double murderer Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson (murderer)
Anthony Anderson is a convicted British murderer.He is most notable for successfully challenging the Home Secretary's powers to set minimum terms for life sentence prisoners...
saw the Home Secretary stripped of the final say on how long a life sentence prisoner must serve before parole can be considered - as well as the right to decide that certain prisoners should never be released.
The law was subsequently changed so that the trial judge was obliged to recommend a minimum number of years (or recommend that life should mean life) in the case of anyone being sentenced to life imprisonment, and that the final say rested with the High Court
High Court
The term High Court usually refers to the superior court of a country or state. In some countries, it is the highest court . In others, it is positioned lower in the hierarchy of courts The term High Court usually refers to the superior court (or supreme court) of a country or state. In some...
rather than the Home Secretary.
Only the Home Secretary can grant a release to a prisoner sentenced to a whole life tariff or whole life order, on compassionate grounds due to great age or infirmity. Only four prisoners known or believed to have been issued with a whole life tariff have been released on compassionate grounds. Three of them were IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
members who were freed under the Good Friday Agreement in 1999. The other was gang member Reggie Kray, freed from his life sentence in 2000 after serving 32 years, due to terminal cancer. He died within weeks of release.
Since whole life tariffs were introduced, the law has stated that defendants aged under 21 years cannot be subjected to such a recommendation or order.
Around 50 prisoners have been issued with whole life tariffs or orders since the mechanism was first introduced in 1983, although some of them were convicted of their crimes before that date and some of the prisoners known to have been issued with the whole life tariff have since died in prison.
Crimes where whole life order are recommended
- murder of two or more persons, where each murder involves any of the following :
- a substantial degree of premeditation or planning,
- the abduction of the victim, or
- sexual or sadistic conduct,
- child murderChild murderThe murder of children is considered an abhorrent crime in much of the world; they are perceived within their communities and the state at large as being vulnerable, and therefore especially susceptible to abduction and murder. The protection of children from abuse and possible death often involves...
if involving the abduction of the child or sexual or sadistic motivation, - murder done for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause,
- murder by an offender previously convicted of murder,
- other offence if the court considers that the seriousness of the offence (or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it) is exceptionally high. For example, high treasonHigh treasonHigh treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
can warrant such a sentence, if it is grave enough.
European Court review on whole life order
In February 2007, the European Court of Human RightsEuropean Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
announced that it was considering whether it is a contravention of human rights for someone to be sentenced to lifelong imprisonment. This news was made public just after David Bieber
David Bieber
David Francis Bieber also known under the alias Nathan Wayne Coleman is an American convicted murderer. A fugitive from the United States, he murdered PC Ian Broadhurst and attempted to murder PCs Neil Roper and James Banks on 26 December 2003 in Leeds, England, sparking a nationwide search...
was due to lodge an appeal against the trial judge's recommendation that he should never be released from prison. His appeal was due to have been heard at this time, but was delayed due to this uncertainty as to whether lifelong imprisonment will remain lawful. If the European judges rule that lifelong imprisonment is a violation of human rights, all prisoners serving whole life orders will have their cases recalled to the courts for a new minimum term to be set. Such a ruling would be highly controversial in many other European countries where the option for whole-life sentences exists, as some European states have whole-life sentences, whereas others do not. For instance in the Netherlands, when a life sentence is passed, it is always intended to mean "life" and as such there is no possibility for parole. So far, just two Dutch life sentence prisoners have been freed, and it was due to terminal illness in both cases. In Spain, on the other hand, the maximum time anyone can serve in prison is 40 years.
A high proportion of prisoners who are unlikely to ever be released or have received very long sentences have declared their wish to die; for example, Ian Brady. At least two such inmates have committed suicide in prison - Harold Shipman
Harold Shipman
Harold Fredrick Shipman was an English doctor and one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history with 218 murders being positively ascribed to him....
and Daniel Gonzalez
Daniel Gonzalez
Daniel Gonzalez , also known as the Freddy Krueger Killer and the Mummy's Boy Killer, was a spree killer who killed four people and injured two others during three days across London and Sussex in September 2004...
.