NCJ Number
95838
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1984) Pages: 250-268
Date Published
1984
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The new policy regarding the decisionmaking process for the release of prisoners serving life sentences in England will change the balance of influence among the parties consulted about releases as well as the balance of principles and assumptions on which the previous decisionmaking process rested.
Abstract
As a result, the influence of most of those consulted will almost certainly decline, while the judiciary will assume a much more central role in determining the minimum lengths of sentence which lifers will serve. With few exceptions, prisoners will have to serve a time decided largely upon judicial advice according to unstated criteria which constitute a tariff system. In addition, the policy of setting a minimum term of 20 years for what the Home Secretary regards as the most abhorrent kinds of murder introduces a different kind of tariff, which is not judicial in origin. In these cases, the Secretary of State is effectively usurping the role of the Lord Chief Justice as stipulator of the minimum period necessary to serve the interests of justice. These two points raise basic legal and constitutional questions. One potential conclusion is that murder should be treated like other major offenses; the other is that it is legitimate to question the basic assumption behind the existing release procedures. Descriptions of an analysis of 217 offenders' dossiers are included. Figures, data tables, and six references are supplied.