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Murderers 'could get 100-year US-style sentences' | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Murderers and other serious offenders could receive US-style sentences totalling hundreds of years as part of a review of the UK's human rights laws. | Murderers and other serious offenders could receive US-style sentences totalling hundreds of years as part of a review of the UK's human rights laws. |
The government is considering the plan after a European court ruled in 2013 that whole-life sentences breached the European Convention on Human Rights. | |
The 100-year terms would allow prisoners to have their sentences reviewed, satisfying the court. | The 100-year terms would allow prisoners to have their sentences reviewed, satisfying the court. |
Policing minister Damian Green said British laws "must be made in Britain". | Policing minister Damian Green said British laws "must be made in Britain". |
'Restore respectability' | |
The proposed change in sentencing regulations comes as Conservative ministers prepare to publish reforms to the UK's human rights laws. | |
They want Britain's Supreme Court to have the final say in cases relating to human rights, rather than the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. | They want Britain's Supreme Court to have the final say in cases relating to human rights, rather than the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. |
The ECHR ruled in July that whole-life sentences - allowed under English law - breached the European Convention on Human Rights because they did not include the possibility of a "right to review". | |
The government was given six months to respond to the decision, which the prime minister has said he "profoundly disagreed" with. | |
One option now being considered by the UK government is a plan to allow judges to impose jail terms of hundreds of years, which would potentially allow offenders to have their sentences reviewed and reduced. | |
Mr Green, who leads the committee responsible for drawing up reforms to limit the influence of the Strasbourg court on British life, told The Daily Telegraph: "British laws must be made in Britain. I want to restore the respectability of human rights." | Mr Green, who leads the committee responsible for drawing up reforms to limit the influence of the Strasbourg court on British life, told The Daily Telegraph: "British laws must be made in Britain. I want to restore the respectability of human rights." |
He added the Conservatives wanted to "restore human rights to their appropriate non-controversial place", and said they were "the base of any democratic free society". | He added the Conservatives wanted to "restore human rights to their appropriate non-controversial place", and said they were "the base of any democratic free society". |
There are currently 49 criminals in England and Wales serving whole-life prison terms. | There are currently 49 criminals in England and Wales serving whole-life prison terms. |
Mark Bridger, 47, who was sentenced to life in prison in May last year for the murder of five-year-old Welsh schoolgirl April Jones, has lodged an application to appeal against his sentence. | Mark Bridger, 47, who was sentenced to life in prison in May last year for the murder of five-year-old Welsh schoolgirl April Jones, has lodged an application to appeal against his sentence. |
His initial hearing at the Court of Appeal is scheduled for early 2014. | His initial hearing at the Court of Appeal is scheduled for early 2014. |
'Unduly lenient' | 'Unduly lenient' |
Ian McLoughlin, 55, who admitted killing Good Samaritan Graham Buck, 66, in Hertfordshire, while on prison day-release, was given a 40-year sentence in October. | Ian McLoughlin, 55, who admitted killing Good Samaritan Graham Buck, 66, in Hertfordshire, while on prison day-release, was given a 40-year sentence in October. |
Mr Justice Sweeney, who sentenced McLoughlin at the Old Bailey, said he was barred from passing a whole-life tariff because of the European judgment. | Mr Justice Sweeney, who sentenced McLoughlin at the Old Bailey, said he was barred from passing a whole-life tariff because of the European judgment. |
The Attorney General Dominic Grieve is due to appeal against his sentence, describing it as "unduly lenient". | The Attorney General Dominic Grieve is due to appeal against his sentence, describing it as "unduly lenient". |
On the day of McLoughlin's sentencing, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said whole-life tariffs should be available to British judges. | On the day of McLoughlin's sentencing, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said whole-life tariffs should be available to British judges. |
"It is the government's clear view that whole-life tariffs should be available for the most serious offenders," he said. | "It is the government's clear view that whole-life tariffs should be available for the most serious offenders," he said. |
"That is the position clearly stated in our law, and what the public expects. The domestic law on this has not changed." | "That is the position clearly stated in our law, and what the public expects. The domestic law on this has not changed." |
Lawyers at the Ministry of Justice are now looking at whether the law needs to be changed to allow judges to hand down more severe sentences. | Lawyers at the Ministry of Justice are now looking at whether the law needs to be changed to allow judges to hand down more severe sentences. |
Under the US system, very long prison sentences are often imposed by some states as an alternative to the death penalty. | |
In August last year, Ariel Castro, the man who abducted three women and held them captive for more than a decade, was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, plus 1,000 years. | In August last year, Ariel Castro, the man who abducted three women and held them captive for more than a decade, was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, plus 1,000 years. |
He was found hanged in his cell in Ohio in September. | He was found hanged in his cell in Ohio in September. |