‘For many people, receiving a jail sentence would be the worst thing that ever happened to them. But when you’ve been experiencing domestic abuse – as most female prisoners have – you may see things slightly differently.’
BBC News, 4th February 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Two men who between them spent 24 years in prison before their convictions were overturned are not entitled to compensation, judges have ruled.’
The Independent, 30th January 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘More than half of the inmates held in prisons for young people in England and Wales are from a black and minority ethnic (BME) background, the highest proportion on record, the prisons watchdog has said, prompting warnings that youth jails have hit “American” levels of disproportionality.’
The Guardian, 29th January 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Ancient treason laws should be renewed to allow enemies of the state to be jailed for life, a right-leaning thinktank has recommended. Britons who betray the country through acts of terror or by aiding hostile nations should be dealt with as traitors, according to a Policy Exchange report.’
The Guardian, 25th July 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The female offender strategy sets out a commitment to divert the most vulnerable women in the criminal justice system away from custody through the provision of tailored support.’
Ministry of Justice, 27th June 2018
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
‘At least 40 children have been held in solitary confinement in young offenders institutions in the past year, the Victoria Derbyshire show has been told.’
BBC News, 18th June 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘There needs to be a “massive reduction” in the number of people sent to prison for 12 months or less, ministers say.’
BBC News, 27th May 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Growing numbers of vulnerable homeless people are being fined, given criminal convictions and even imprisoned for begging and rough sleeping, the Guardian can reveal.’
The Guardian, 20th May 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘One of Britain’s longest serving prisoners has been released after 43 years behind bars.’
Daily Telegraph, 3rd May 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Earlier this month, the Chairman of the Sentencing Council, Lord Justice Treacy, wrote to all sentencers to remind them of the requirement to follow the Council’s Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentences Definitive Guideline, which has been in force since February 2017. Courts are statutorily bound to follow sentencing guidelines unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so.’
Sentencing Council, 24th April 2018
‘The unlawful imprisonment of people for council tax non-payment “is likely to be one of the largest mass miscarriages of justice in British history”, the chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Angela Rafferty QC, and 57 other signatories of a letter to The Guardian have claimed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 27th March 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Anyone reading that John Hart, an 83-year-old man with prostate cancer, had been sent to prison by a High Court judge might naturally raise an eye-brow in surprise. However, HHJ Wildblood QC did just that following judgments at [2018] EWHC 548 (Fam), [2018] EWHC 549 (Fam) and dated 23 February and 18 March 2018 respectively. These decisions are the latest in the long-running saga in the Hart v Hart divorce which has now been ongoing in various guises for some six and a half years.’
Family Law, 23rd March 2018
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘A man who bit off a piece of his victim’s ear has had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General appealed it for being too low.’
Attorney General’s Office, 14th March 2018
Source: www.gov.uk/ago
‘The High Court has admitted up to 17 people in England and Wales were unlawfully sent to jail for not paying their council tax last year – but it refused to accept this constituted “systematic failings” by the courts.’
The Independent, 17th January 2018
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Being in debt is not a crime. So why are nearly 100 people a year sent to prison for falling behind on council tax payments?’
Legal Voice, 19th December 2017
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
‘Two robbers who laughed after spraying women in their faces with cleaning fluid have been jailed for 10 years.’
BBC News, 8th December 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Teenage girls’ diaries have been used to help convict a former PE teacher of sexually assaulting five pupils.’
BBC News, 1st December 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A man who swung his toddler stepson by the ankles and smashed his head into a fireplace has been jailed for a minimum of 13 years.’
BBC News, 1st December 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Banned from begging and sleeping in shop doorways in Middlesbrough, Bradley Grimes asked the judge in court to send him to prison rather than leave him homeless. What effect did it have?’
BBC News, 23rd November 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A paedophile was brought to justice 35 years after abusing a six-year-old boy when he found himself in the same prison cell as his victim.’
Daily Telegraph, 21st November 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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