Beyond the Tariff

by Padfield; Nicola

• ISBN13: 9781903240885
• ISBN10: 1903240883
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Willan

Summary

This book is a study of the workings of the Discretionary Lifer Panels of the Parole Board, the body charged with the responsibility for making decisions on the release of discretionary life sentence prisoners. It traces the origins and development of the Discretionary Lifer Panels following the landmark Weeks and Thynne decisions of the European Court of Human Rights which led to the establishment of DLPs, and examines the way in which the DLPs developed subsequently ­ often rather differently to what was originally envisaged as necessary to comply with the decision of the ECHR.This book provides a fascinating case study of a little known part of the criminal justice system, and explores at the same time the wider issues that have arisen ­ in particular the impact of the ECHR and the Human Rights Act on the criminal justice system; the relationship between the Parole Board and the Prison and Probation Services; the differences between release procedures for different categories of life sentence prisoner, and those detained compulsorily under the Mental Health Act; the broader social, legal and political context in which DLPs operate, and the nature of discretionary decision-making in the criminal justice system field. Beyond the Tariff:gives the first detailed study ­ from a leading authority in the field ­ of the way decisions are reached on discretionary life sentence prisonersexplores the impact of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act on the working of the criminal justice systemwill be of interest to practitioners and academics concerned with the UK criminal justice system

Author Biography

Nicola Padfield is a Lecturer at the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgements	xiii
List of abbreviations	xiv
Table of cases	xv
Table of statutes	xix
Forms of life sentence	1	(15)
Discretionary life sentences	3	(2)
Mandatory life sentences	5	(3)
Detention at Her Majesty's pleasure or for a specified period	8	(2)
Custody for life	10	(1)
`Automatic' life sentences	11	(3)
Conclusion	14	(2)
Life sentences: in custody and approaching release	16	(14)
Some statistics	16	(4)
Serving a life sentence	20	(3)
Release under the Criminal Justice Act 1967	23	(7)
The view from Europe	30	(30)
The European Court of Human Rights	30	(4)
The case of Weeks	34	(5)
The case of Thynne, Wilson and Gunnell v. United Kingdom	39	(12)
Wynne: murders are different	51	(1)
The cases of Hussain and Singh	52	(6)
Summary	58	(2)
Parliamentary and governmental responses	60	(22)
The Criminal Justice Bill 1990	60	(2)
The Bill in the House of Commons	62	(3)
The House of Lords	65	(4)
Back in the Commons: the government reacts	69	(1)
Back to the House of Lords	70	(7)
Drafting the regulations	77	(2)
The Crime (Sentences) Act 1997: extending the procedure	79	(2)
Summary	81	(1)
DLPs in practice	82	(26)
Preparing for the DLP	83	(1)
The dossier	84	(5)
The DLP in practice	89	(5)
Decisions and outcomes	94	(4)
Key issues	98	(9)
Summary	107	(1)
Release procedures compared	108	(18)
Determinate sentences	108	(4)
The release of mandatory lifers	112	(6)
Mental Health Review Tribunals	118	(6)
Conclusions	124	(2)
The spirit of Weeks/Thynne and the reality	126	(25)
The judicial function	126	(4)
What is a court?	130	(2)
The independence of the Parole Board	132	(8)
The `court' must follow appropriate procedures	140	(4)
Recent developments in judicial review	144	(7)
Theory and practice	151	(14)
Summary	151	(1)
Back to basics	151	(6)
Developments elsewhere in the United Kingdom	157	(3)
Does the DLP pass the test?	160	(3)
Lessons for the future	163	(2)
Appendices	165	(30)
1 Extracts from the majority and dissenting opinions in Weeks	165	(10)
2 Sections 32 and 34 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991	175	(2)
3 Sections 28--32 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (as amended)	177	(4)
Section 82A of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000	180	(1)
4 The Parole Board Rules 1997	181	(10)
5 Sections 72 and 73 of the Mental Health Act 1983, as amended by the Mental Health Act 1983 (Remedial) Order 2001 (SI 2001 No. 3712)	191	(4)
References	195	(6)
Index	201