Life sentences should mean life

A ruling yesterday from the European Court of Human Rights stated that whole life orders set by English courts were not in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Scottish Conservatives are now calling for whole life orders to be introduced in Scotland.

Scottish Conservative Justice Spokesman, David McLetchie MSP said:

"The ruling by the European Court of Human Rights yesterday confirmed that whole life orders are not a breach of a prisoner's human rights and can be issued lawfully by judges. As such, I can see no reason why they are not available to judges in Scotland.

"Those who carry out the most despicable and heinous crimes should not be given the opportunity to re-enter society.

"Life should mean life and if a judge sees fit he should be able to ensure that the worst criminals spend every remaining day of their lives in prison with one clear sentence. The SNP must now bring forward legislation to give our judges the same sentencing powers that are available in the rest of the UK.

Provisions in relation to whole life orders in England and Wales are set out primarily in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 in s.269 (4). This clause allows the courts to disapply early release provisions in relation to life sentences imposed for particularly serious offences.

A similar clause could be inserted into s.2 of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993.

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