From today's Manchester Evening News:
A man who tried to rape an unconscious woman just eight days after taking part in a terrifying raid on another woman's home has been jailed for life.
Joseph Lee, 33, must serve a minimum of six years before being released.
Surely the only way "lifers" should leave prison is in a private ambulance?
Life sentences mean that prisoners are released under licence so can be recalled at any time, for fairly minor things, rather than have their sentence+parole 'served' and need to be convicted of a crime to be sent back.
Also, (although rules have changed) life with a minimum usually means if a prisoner is seen as likely to reoffend when released then they can be held indefinitely.
Surely the only way “lifers” should leave prison is in a private ambulance?
That's a "whole life" sentence, which are used in the most extreme cases.
must serve a minimum of six years before being released.
I get what wwawas and IHN are saying but it does seem like the wrong term for someone who keeps his nose clean is out in 6. You'd have though a minimum for a life sentence would be higher than 6 irrespective of any hold they have over you after your release.
He will be eligible for parole after 6 years. He remains subject to recall to prison for even the most minor things so yes - he remains in the prison system for life. Just he can apply for ( but it may not be granted ) parole after 6 years
You’d have though a minimum for a life sentence would be higher than 6 irrespective of any hold they have over you after your release.
I'm a self-confessed hand-wringing liberal, but I can't help but agree with that. If the crime you've been convicted of is so serious as to require a life-sentence, it does seem odd that you can have your (limited, monitored) freedom back after such a relatively short period of time.
I don't have a problem with allowing parole for people sentenced to life, but it does seem a bit ridiculous to sentence someone to 12 life sentences, plus an extra 3000 years on top of that. It just means that instead of serving his full sentence, he's inevitably going to avoid doing most of it.
@hols2 - part of that is down to how things are presented and reported. In the USA someone convicted of three murders would receive three life sentences, one for each murder and it would be reported as "Three life sentences". In the UK that person would also receive a life sentence for each murder but it would be reported as a single "life sentence".
Each murder is effectively a separate case and juries deliberate and announce guilty/not guilty verdicts on each one. If one conviction was overturned on appeal then the others would mean that the murderer still remained behind bars.
The US penal system seems as much about revenge and retribution as it is about justice and punishment.
According to Wikipedia there are roughly 70 "whole term tariff" prisoners in the UK.
6 years is unusually low. There must be something unusual about the guy who comitted the crime (mental health problems maybe?) that has led to that length of time until parole.
I’m a self-confessed hand-wringing liberal, but I can’t help but agree with that. If the crime you’ve been convicted of is so serious as to require a life-sentence, it does seem odd that you can have your (limited, monitored) freedom back after such a relatively short period of time.
It's changed a lot in recent years I think, 'Life' used to mean no parole for 25 years, but then I think you only got life for very serious crimes. Now you can get 'life' for less serious crimes but be out earlier, but, as above you're on license for the rest of your life.
Whether someone convicted for Rape could be sent back to prison for the rest of their life for shoplifting 15 years later I don't know.
Whether someone convicted for Rape could be sent back to prison for the rest of their life for shoplifting 15 years later I don’t know.
Quite a good question!
It works the same way as a lifetime warranty on a frame .
**waves rolled up Daily Mail**
BRING BACK HANGING
**sits down to let facial redness subside**
Whether someone convicted for Rape could be sent back to prison for the rest of their life for shoplifting 15 years later I don’t know.
yes if they have been given a life sentance
6 years is unusually low. There must be something unusual about the guy who comitted the crime (mental health problems maybe?) that has led to that length of time until parole.
He will not automatically get parole. He can apply for it. after 6 years
Anders Breveik anyone?
and closer to home.. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7147662/Killers-freed-to-kill-again.html
Oh and on a personal note I knew a guy in his early 40s who was rehoused near me who had been convicted of killing 2 people on 2 different occasions and served 2 sentences, one manslaughter and one murder.Freed at 43 after the second conviction.
You get a life sentence and a term you serve. You are usually up for parole half way through. If when you are released on parole you do owt wrong for the rest of your life you go back in to serve the remaining part of the sentence plus the sentence for the new offence.
It at least that is how it was 15 years ago.
With a life sentence there is a minimum tariff - in this case 6 years before you can be considered for parole. You remain on parole the rest of your life
With a life sentence there is a minimum tariff – in this case 6 years before you can be considered for parole. You remain on parole the rest of your life
You get a life sentence and a term you serve. You are usually up for parole half way through. If when you are released on parole you do owt wrong for the rest of your life you go back in to serve the remaining part of the sentence plus the sentence for the new offence.
While this may be technically true, Nick's story
Oh and on a personal note I knew a guy in his early 40s who was rehoused near me who had been convicted of killing 2 people on 2 different occasions and served 2 sentences, one manslaughter and one murder.Freed at 43 after the second conviction.
seems to indicate that you can just re-apply for parole (for the new offense) and get out again; and is therefore rather pointless
With a life sentence the 6 years( in this case) is the minimum you can serve. He will not be able to apply for parole at 3 years - he has to wait until 6.
The half the sentence then apply for parole is if you have a sentence of say 5 years - then you apply for parole after 2.5.
I don't think that is the point he was making.....
In Nick's narrative the offender applied for and was given parole after his minimum tariff. Then whilst out on parole he then committed a similar horrendous crime killing a second person. You would have thought everyone involved would have had good hard look at their judgements the first time around (thinking him safe to release on parole when he clearly wasn't as proved by his later actions) and the minimum tariff for the second killing or the bar to pass the 2nd parole board would be so high there was no way he would be released by 43.
seems to indicate that you can just re-apply for parole
Nick's story is not complete. My supposition is that he was paroled for the manslaughter offence and kept his nose clean for the rest of the sentence, which may have been reduced for an early guilty plea. Then he murdered and served his time before being paroled again.
Another offence for taking a life and I suspect a whole life tariff will be imposed on conviction.
Here's a case of a non-life sentence that is effectively a life sentence. No question that some jail time was warranted, but this is ridiculous.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Bostic