Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average tariff period imposed for murder in each year since 1990.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The average tariff given to offenders receiving life sentences for murder, in England and Wales between 2005 to 2016 can be viewed in the table below. Information prior to 2005 is held in court records and not centrally, so could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many offenders with previous convictions for homicide were convicted of homicide in 2014.
Answered by Lord Faulks
A life sentence is mandatory on conviction for murder and a whole life order starting point applies to a murder by an offender previously convicted of murder.
The table shows the number of offenders with previous convictions for homicide by offenders convicted of homicide in 2014.
Table: Number of previous convictions for homicide2 by people convicted of homicide1 in each year from 2009 to 2014 | |||
Number of offenders with a previous conviction(s) for homicide | |||
Year | |||
2009 | 3 | ||
2010 | 9 | ||
2011 | 14 | ||
2012 | 8 | ||
2013 | 9 | ||
2014 | 5 | ||
Source: Police National Computer (PNC) | |||
1. All offender figures are based on counting the number of sentencing occasions for an homicide offence committed by offenders who were prosecuted by police forces in England and Wales including the British Transport Police. Offenders who have been convicted on more than one occasion during the year and across the years will be represented in the table several times. | |||
2. All previous conviction figures are based on counting the number of convictions on which offenders have previously been convicted for a homicide offence recorded on the Police National Computer, including some offences committed outside of England and Wales. | |||
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Homicide includes among others, the offences of murder, manslaughter, infanticide, corporate manslaughter and causing death by dangerous or careless driving. See footnote 3 for all types of homicides.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of sentence was served by people convicted of murder in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
All murder convictions must result in a life sentence and the court determines the appropriate minimum term to be served in custody in each case before the offender can be considered for release on life licence by the Parole Board. The average time spent in custody before release by offenders serving mandatory life sentences for murder has increased from 13 years in 2004 to 17 years in 2014.
The average time served in custody by people convicted of murder in each of the last five years is not known. Information is available in relation to offenders serving mandatory life sentences for murder who have been released in the last five years. This is included in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly, Prison Releases Annual Tables, Table A3.3 “Number of first indeterminate releases and average time served”: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/424903/prison-releases-annual-2014.xlsx .
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made in implementing each of the recommendations of the review into the needs of families bereaved by homicide, published by his Department in July 2011.
Answered by Mike Penning
In July 2011 we published the Review into the Needs of Families Bereaved by Homicide by Louise Casey (then Victims’ Commissioner). She made a wide range of recommendations. Since then we have worked closely with victims and victims’ organisations and the report’s findings have played a critical role in informing our approach to ensuring that families get the help they need.
This includes plans to implement a victims law to put into statute the right of the victim to tell a court how a crime has affected them, providing families of homicide victims with a copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks following the trial, and funding a dedicated national Homicide Service with more than £2million a year to support those affected by homicide at home and abroad.
Further information requested is in the table attached.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will give transcripts of trials to the families of murder victims.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Ministry of Justice provides families of homicide victims with a copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks in any case of murder, manslaughter or offences of causing death on the road.
Upon request, Her Majesty Courts and Tribunal Service will consider providing transcript of other key parts of the trial.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to review sentences given for (a) murder and (b) manslaughter where the offence was a one-punch killing.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
A life sentence is mandatory for murder and there is statutory guidance to the courts in determining the appropriate minimum term when sentencing. Manslaughter has a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and, within that maximum penalty, it is necessary that judges are able to sentence according to all the factors in each case. There is no sentencing guideline on unlawful act manslaughter but there is case law to assist the courts.
Following the comments of the Attorney General and the Court of Appeal in the case of Lewis Gill, the Government considers that clarification of sentencing in manslaughter cases would assist the courts in these difficult cases and be helpful to the public. The Secretary of State for Justice therefore wrote to Lord Justice Treacy, the Chair of the Sentencing Council, on 8 May 2014 to make a formal request that the Council gives consideration to producing guidance on the sentencing of these cases.