Victims and bereaved families to get more time to challenge ‘unduly lenient’ sentences | Sentencing
Under the changes announced by David Lammy, victims and bereaved families will be given six months to challenge “overly lenient” sentences given to offenders.
Relatives of murder victims have campaigned for the government to remove the 28-day time limit for making formal requests after an offender has been sentenced.
Chancellor and justice minister Lammy said the change was a recognition that in the immediate aftermath of a heinous crime, bereaved families and traumatized victims cannot be expected to contact the justice system within a month.
extremely light sentence scheme It allows any member of the public to refer a sentence to the attorney general and attorney general (the government’s senior legal advisers) if they believe it is too lenient.
They can then ask the appeals court to review the sentence; This is a measure to help ensure that the sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence.
Following concerns that victims and their families were not aware of the scheme, the government will also introduce a statutory duty under the Victims Act to inform victims of the scheme’s existence.
Tracey Hanson, who campaigned for changes after her son Josh was killed in a nightclub, welcomed the move. He appealed to the chief prosecutor’s office within 28 days in 2019 to object to the sentence. However, he arrived at 8.40pm on the final day and was admitted “outside court hours”.
Her lawyer, police, courts and victim support had not told her that she could appeal a lenient sentence within 28 days of the judge jailing her son’s killer, Shane O’Brien. He became Britain’s most wanted man when he fled to Europe after a drug dealer was murdered on a private plane he had chartered.
Hanson said the change was a testament to his son’s memory after a seven-year campaign. “These changes represent a hard-fought victory in ensuring families are no longer left in the dark or traumatic at the most painful moments of their lives,” he said.
Katie Brett, who was 16 when her sister Sasha Marsden was raped, murdered and set on fire, said her family were not told they had the right to appeal the sentence given to her killer until it was too late.
“In Sasha’s memory, victims and their families have six months to appeal an excessively lenient sentence and being notified of the new statutory duty means every family will know their rights,” he said. “No family should be left in the dark like we were; every victim deserves support.”
The right to appeal a sentence remains limited to serious crimes heard at the crown court, such as murder, manslaughter, robbery, rape, stalking and most child sexual abuse offences. Hundreds of other crimes are excluded, including some sexual offenses that cause death due to reckless driving and theft.
Ministers will introduce amendments to the victims and courts bill, which is about to be approved by parliament, to implement the changes. Other members of the public will still have 28 days to refer a case under the scheme.
Lammy said: “If someone has gone through the ordeal of seeking justice and watched the person who harmed them or a loved one be punished, the last thing they need to worry about is the ticking clock.
“People need time to breathe, talk to their families and seek advice. This change means they will have more time to do that and, most importantly, they will get the justice they deserve.”
Shadow justice secretary Kieran Mullan cautiously welcomed the move. “After months of reasonable reform proposals being rejected, this is a step forward and reflects the strength of the feeling of victims, families and campaigners calling for change,” he said.
