Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme
2020-12-10
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Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The question arises from the need to address cases where sentences are deemed insufficiently severe by public standards.
What recent sentences has she extended through the unduly lenient sentence scheme?
The Court of Appeal has this month increased sentences referred by me for a range of offending. Those have included the supply of drugs in one of Her Majesty's prisons, the possession of firearms, and the rape of a victim who was asleep combined with the making of indecent images and recordings.
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Q2
Direct Answer
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Context
The question is prompted by the ongoing debate on ensuring public safety through appropriate sentencing measures.
Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the purposes of sentencing include public protection as well as punishment, and that is important for the unduly lenient sentence scheme?
My hon. Friend is entirely right about public protection. It is one reason why, exceptionally, I will refer a case involving a dangerous offender, for example. In two separate cases this year—one involving a stabbing, and the other involving rape, where both the victims were lone females—the offenders had their original sentences extended following my reference to the Court of Appeal to properly reflect the dangerousness of their offending.
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