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Judges hearing whole-life term challenges Whole-life terms 'not wrong in principle', court hears
(about 1 hour later)
The Court of Appeal is hearing major challenges to whole-life terms given to some killers. Whole-life terms for some killers are "not manifestly excessive or wrong in principle", the Court of Appeal heard.
Five leading judges are considering if jail without parole - currently reserved for "exceptionally" serious offences - is still legally possible. A lawyer for the attorney general said it would be "unduly lenient" not to impose a whole-life term if justified by the "seriousness of the offending".
Last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled such sentences had to be reviewed at some point. The Court of Appeal is considering if such sentences are still legally possible.
The sentencing of the two men who murdered Fusilier Lee Rigby has been postponed until after this appeal. Last year the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled they must be reviewed at some point.
The Court of Appeal case involves two killers currently serving whole-life tariffs. But the UK government says whole-life tariffs are "wholly justified in the most heinous cases".
James Eadie QC, representing Attorney General Dominic Grieve, told the court that the ECHR judgement did not remove the right of judges to impose a whole-life order - it only raised a question for the state as to whether there should be a later review.
"There is no problem," he said. "Whole-life orders are not in principle or nature incompatible [with the European Convention of Human Rights].
"There is no basis for interfering with these sentences."
Three cases have come to the Court of Appeal, two involving killers on whole-life tariffs, because of last year's controversial European court ruling.
Lee Newell was already serving a life sentence for murder when he strangled a fellow inmate at Long Lartin Prison.Lee Newell was already serving a life sentence for murder when he strangled a fellow inmate at Long Lartin Prison.
The second man, Matthew Thomas, murdered one woman before kidnapping and raping another - two months after being released from prison for another rape. A second man, Matthew Thomas, murdered one woman before kidnapping and raping another - two months after being released from prison for another rape.
The judges will also hear a referral from the attorney general that a third killer, Ian McLoughlin, received an unduly lenient sentence after killing someone while on temporary release from prison, where he was already serving a sentence for murder. The attorney general has previously stated that a third killer, Ian McLoughlin, received an "unduly lenient" sentence after killing someone while on temporary release from prison, where he was already serving a sentence for murder.
The sentencing of the two men who murdered Fusilier Lee Rigby has been postponed until after this appeal.
Controversial rulingControversial ruling
All three cases have come to the Court of Appeal because of a controversial ruling last year by the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR, in Strasbourg, ruled that there should be some possibility of having sentences reviewed - 25 years into their term at the very latest.
The Strasbourg court said that there should be some possibility of having a sentence reviewed - even if it occurs after many decades.
That decision prompted the judge dealing with McLoughlin to sentence him to 40 years, rather than a whole-life term.That decision prompted the judge dealing with McLoughlin to sentence him to 40 years, rather than a whole-life term.
Trisha Bergan's son Jerome, 27, was stabbed and killed in 2002 by paranoid schizophrenic Aaron Oliver, who was later jailed for four-and-a-half years for manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility. Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday, Trisha Bergan - whose son Jerome, 27, was stabbed and killed in 2002 - said: "Sentences are too light. We are victims too. What about our human rights?"
"Sentences are too light," she told BBC Breakfast. "We are victims too. What about our human rights?" Her son's killer, paranoid schizophrenic Aaron Oliver, was jailed for four-and-a-half years for manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.
But prison law expert Simon Creighton told the programme: "All sentences have to have some ideal of hope." Prison law expert Simon Creighton told the programme: "All sentences have to have some ideal of hope."
The outcome of the appeals could determine the future direction of sentencing for the most serious killers in England and Wales.
There are 52 prisoners serving whole-life terms, including Mark Bridger - convicted of the 2012 sexually-motivated murder of five-year-old April Jones in Powys.
Judges can consider a whole-life term in exceptional cases - including those who kill a child for a sexual motive.Judges can consider a whole-life term in exceptional cases - including those who kill a child for a sexual motive.
The judges' decision, which is expected at a later date, may have an impact on all 52 whole-life prisoners. The outcome of the appeals could determine the future direction of sentencing for the most serious killers in England and Wales, as well as have an impact on the 52 prisoners currently on whole-life terms.
It could also affect the terms given to the two men who murdered Fusilier Lee Rigby, whose sentencing has been delayed until the Court of Appeal issues the new guidance. They include Mark Bridger, convicted of the 2012 sexually-motivated murder of five-year-old April Jones in Powys.
The appeal court judges' decision, which is expected at a later date, could also affect the terms given to the killers of Fusilier Rigby.