Mandatory life sentence is ‘unjust and outdated’

The homicide review advisory group said that the current system, where a so-called “mercy” killing is given the same sentence as serial killings, is unfair.

The group, which includes judges, academics and former QCs, is calling for sentencing for murder to be discretionary, allowing the courts to decided on a punishment that reflects the particular offence.

A report by the group of legal experts said that life sentences were also indefinite and misleading, as it did not always result in life behind bars.

Their report follows research which found that there would be public support for a reform of the murder penality, so that life imprisonment was the maximum sentence, rather than the mandatory.

The mandatory life sentence replaced the death penalty in 1965 and the group said it was originally brought in as a compromise to make sure that both houses of parliament would pass the abolition of the death penalty.