Are the judiciary listening to public opinion now?

[GrannyMac]

Life sentences with minimum terms of over forty years have been handed out this week for two horrific murder cases.   Life does pretty much mean life in these cases.

Jamie Barrow set fire to his neighbour's flat, killing a mother and two small children, and Connor Chapman shot an innocent woman in a pub. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-66135038

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-66135840

[Michael Rolls]

what's the betting that in tent year's time the bleeding bloody hearts will be clamouring for their release?

[GrannyMac]

The parole boards should put their money where their mouths are. If they decide someone should be paroled, and they go on to commit further serious crimes, those responsible should admit publicly they got it wrong.

I'm all for rehabilitation in some instances.  But what sort of twisted mind sets fire to a family home with little kids in it?  Or randomly shoots at a crowd of people not knowing who'll be hit? 

[dextrous63]

Tell me about it GM.  This story is somewhat close to home

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/i-miss-my-jailed-mum-storm-over-876429

[GrannyMac]

Dreadful dextrous. No doubt the girl was let out early due to her age.  Doesn't sound like she's remorseful.

[dextrous63]

Pm sent

[Alex]

Pardon ? 

[dextrous63]

Pardon ? 

Take this thread behind closed doors and I'll tell you all about it.

[Cassandra]

All Judiciary have 'sentencing notes' issued as guidance. There exists margins of constraint and indeed each Judge will interpret cases differently, hence the engine of appeal. I have periodically viewed 'Parole' decisions upon the judgements I meted out, or alternatively cases I either prosecuted or defended in. I have found the great majority have been very well handled and restraints upon those I thought terminally a danger to society were upheld.

I think that the media tends to highlight those cases that are contentious to my experiences above? Around 30,000 Parole hearings are conducted yearly and about a third of those are 'face to face'.

That said in recent years a far more liberal attitude seems to be the rule than in my own now, more distant times. I fear a combination of wokery and the real need for 'prison space' being relinquished are beginning to now influence decisions increasingly the other way.

[Diasi]

I'm all for the USA sentencing system where sometimes a sentence such as 4 consecutive 100 years is handed down.

Better still, make them sweat on Death Row for 25 years before they're finally dispatched.

[Cassandra]

As I said Phil, it depends on what State your in regards the sentence you can expect. For example 27 states still hand down the death penalty. However 7 retain the suppression of application to facilitate 'appeals' etc. I believe within twenty years, all but Texas will have banned capital punishment in the wash of woke.

[Alex]

 " the suppression of application to facilitate 'appeals' etc. ".  Does that sound like something we could do with here ?