“Jack Straw today (26 August) became the first British minister to raise questions about the handling of the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.”
The Guardian, 26th August 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Preparations are under way to free the Libyan man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing from prison next week, after doctors said his terminal prostate cancer was in its final stages.”
The Guardian, 13th August 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The great train robber Ronnie Biggs has been given permission to challenge the decision to refuse him parole, his legal adviser said today.”
The Guardian, 30th July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Ronnie Biggs, the man at the centre of Britain’s great train robbery, will remain in prison after the justice secretary, Jack Straw, refused to grant him parole.”
The Guardian, 1st July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The parents of murdered French students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez are to sue British authorities over systematic failures in the justice system that contributed to their sons’ deaths.”
The Guardian, 5th June 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The failure of the Secretary of State for Justice to provide courses to enable prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection to enable them to demonstrate their safety for release to the Parole Board did not render their post-tariff detention unlawful.”
WLR Daily, 6th May 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Regina (Lee) v Same; Regina (Wells) v Same
House of Lords
“Although the Secretary of State for Justice had failed in his public duty to provide such treatment courses for prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection as would enable them to demonstrate to the Parole Board that it was safe to release them, their post-tariff detention was not unlawful.”
The Times, 8th May 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The Parole Board has postponed recommending whether Ronnie Biggs should be released from jail in the summer in a wrangle over who should pay for round-the-clock medical care for the Great Train Robber.”
The Times, 24th April 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Britain’s most notorious police killer hopes to be freed from prison within months, having served 42 years in jail.”
The Times, 28th February 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Gordon Brown has said it is ‘very unlikely’ Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe will be released from jail.”
BBC News, 18th February 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Great train robber Ronnie Biggs may walk free this summer, it emerged last night. A parole board meeting on 3 July will decide if he can be released from Norwich jail after nine and a half years in custody in the UK and more than 35 years on the run in Australia and Brazil since the £2.3m raid on the Glasgow to London mail train.”
The Guardian, 18th February 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Regina (Black) v Secretary of State for Justice
House of Lords
“The provision requiring lawfulness of detention to be determined by a court was not infringed when the Secretary of State for Justice rather than the Parole Board determined whether certain long-term prisoners should be released on licence.”
The Times, 30th January 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“The Lord Chief Justice has ordered immediate changes to the system of reviewing jail terms after learning that killers could be having their tariffs wrongly reduced because vital information is not seen by judges.”
Daily Telegraph, 3rd November 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Regina v Hills; Regina v Pomfret; Regina v Davies
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
“A consecutive prison sentence could be added to a life sentence where the circumstances warranted it.”
The Times, 7th August 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Mason v Ministry of Justice [2008] EWHC 1787 (QB); [2008] WLR (D) 265
“The discretion to release a prisoner on home detention curfew could lawfully be exercised by the executive. An individual’s right under art 5(4) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, to take proceedings by which the lawfulness of his detention could be decided, was adequately protected by the possibility of review of decisions of the executive on general public law principles.”
WLR Daily, 30th July 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
R v Hills; R v Davies; R v Pomfret; [2008] WLR (D) 251
There was no practical reason why an order should not be made requiring an offender to serve an additional period of imprisonment other than the minimum period before being considered for parole where there had been a planned, deliberate and serious act of violence, in circumstances which fully justified a significant sentence of imprisonment.”
WLR Daily, 24th July 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Nearly 29,000 criminals have been freed from prison early in the first 11 months of an emergency scheme to beat jail overcrowding, it was announced yesterday.”
The Independent, 1st July 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A prisoner allegedly raped someone after being released early under a government scheme aimed at easing jail overcrowding, it has emerged.”
BBC News, 27th June 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Reginald Wilson, currently serving life for slaughtering Teesside skin specialist, David Birkett, can ask the Parole Board to free him next month after a top judge overturned his ‘whole life’ jail tariff yesterday.”
Daily Telegraph, 17th May 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The killer of headteacher Philip Lawrence will remain in prison for several more months despite being eligible for release.”
BBC News, 21st April 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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