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No life sentences in the UK?

post #1 of 10
5/13/08 at 7:05am
Thread Starter 
What does it take to get a life sentence in the UK? WOW

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...be-housed.html
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post #2 of 10
5/13/08 at 7:23am
In situations like this the law is a joke with it's "Human rights" nonsense.
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post #3 of 10
5/13/08 at 10:11am
It is ridiculous, the system. But there is such a thing - it is 'detained at her Majesty's pleasure' which means the Home Secretary of the Day has to keep reviewing whether someone is eligible for parole and sometimes the trial judge will state that is not to happen for 30 years, or even longer in some cases. But 'life' often means only 10 or 15 years.
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post #4 of 10
5/13/08 at 10:10pm
It is the same here in NZ - a life sentence is about 15 years. Recently there was a big meeting in my hometown over this issue because NZ is way too lenient.

My friend was abducted, raped and murdered last November and if the ******* gets found guilty, he will probably only get about 15 or so years. It makes me mad.

There definitely needs to be a good hard look at sensible sentencing.
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post #5 of 10
5/13/08 at 11:59pm
So, this man was convicted of sexually assaulting a prostitute. Then, he was convicted of raping a woman in her home.

He was released from prison to go on to rape and murder a 14 year old girl.

Wow.

I don't care what country it is, but that type of criminal justice is almost as perverted as this criminal. Multiple violent sexual assault convictions is not like getting two DUIs or two theft charges. The rate of recidivism is known to be relatively high, and the crimes are considerably worse. I sincerely hope this is not representative of the UK's criminal justice system, but a terrible example of someone "falling through the cracks".
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post #6 of 10
5/14/08 at 12:29am
A bullet in the back of his head would solve the problem of what do with him.
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post #7 of 10
5/14/08 at 12:55am
Life in Canada is 25 years. Rarely is someone sentenced to the full term without the elegibility for parole. As a result most get out once they have served 2/3 of their sentence.
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post #8 of 10
5/14/08 at 2:21am
Worse still, if a person pleads guilty they will get a reduced sentence. I think it all comes down to money - if they plead guilty they have saved the state the cost of a trial and the reduced sentence is a kind of reward for this. Also we see very harsh sentences for other crimes - the sort that target property/money. A human life doesn't seem to be worth as much. Add to that our prisons are so overcrowded that some convicts are being held in police stations. Then there is the joke that is 'open prisons'.

I reckon that the Women's Institute ought to be put in charge of sentencing, then we might see some common sense prevailing.
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post #9 of 10
5/14/08 at 4:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by millyanddaisy View Post
I reckon that the Women's Institute ought to be put in charge of sentencing, then we might see some common sense prevailing.
I love the thought!
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post #10 of 10
5/15/08 at 7:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by millyanddaisy View Post
Worse still, if a person pleads guilty they will get a reduced sentence. I think it all comes down to money - if they plead guilty they have saved the state the cost of a trial and the reduced sentence is a kind of reward for this. Also we see very harsh sentences for other crimes - the sort that target property/money. A human life doesn't seem to be worth as much. Add to that our prisons are so overcrowded that some convicts are being held in police stations. Then there is the joke that is 'open prisons'.

I reckon that the Women's Institute ought to be put in charge of sentencing, then we might see some common sense prevailing.
I agree! I wish past governments had had the foresight to build more prisons.
The WI would do a great job. We should have more female jurors in sexual harassment/assault cases, it would help with the abysmal conviction rate.

As a side note- Anyone been listening to the Archers? I was happy he got 15 years, but I thought it was unrealistic he got convicted for the 2 rapes at all. I guess the writers thought they couldn't put Kathy through any more trauma.
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