Britain could adopt US-style system of first and second-degree murder under new Labour plans_Nhy
Labour took the first step towards potential abolition of mandatory life sentences for murder today as it announced a wide-ranging review of homicide law.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the Law Commission will carry out a ‘wholesale review’ of the legislation on punishing murderers.
The move is likely to lead to the creation of a US-style category of ‘second degree murder’, previously dismissed by one Conservative minister as ‘murder lite’.
Ms Mahmood’s department confirmed yesterday that if a lower tier of murder is created it will not carry a mandatory life sentence, which judges must currently impose on all convicted murderers.
Another effect of the move could be that some killers who currently end up being convicted of manslaughter would move up to the new higher category.
Bereaved relatives of the victims of Valdo Calocane, who was convicted of manslaughter after fatally stabbing three people in Nottingham last year, have been campaigning for reform.
They welcomed the review on Friday night but said they hoped the government was not attempting to slip anything under the radar.
The Government’s measures are likely to lead to the biggest change to homicide laws since hanging was abolished for murder nearly 60 years ago.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a wholesale review of homicide laws likely to lead to the creation of a US-style ‘murder-lite’ crime
The move has been welcomed by the families of those killed by Valdo Calocane, who was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order rather than jail
The Law Commission has previously recommended creating a ‘second degree murder’ tier which would be applied in cases of where the offender is ruled to have ‘diminished responsibility’, for example.
A report by the expert body in 2006 advocated a newly-created ‘first degree murder’ category which would apply to those who kill intentionally – and would continue to carry an automatic life sentence.
It said a new charge of ‘second degree murder’ would apply in cases where an offender intended to do serious injury, or where they have a partial defence to the more serious crime.
Judges would have discretion on whether to impose a life sentence for the lower tier of murder, the commission said at the time.
But the proposals were later rejected by ministers.
Then justice minister Oliver Heald told MPs in 2016: ‘The public rightly thinks murder is the most serious and abhorrent crime, and I have a concern about creating a ‘murder-lite’ category.’
The new review is expected to take at least a year, and will require legislation followed by guidance for judges from the Sentencing Council.
It means any changes are years away.
An MoJ spokesman said: ‘The review will assume the continuing existence of the mandatory life sentence for murder (or the most serious form of murder if a tiered structure for homicide is recommended).’
It means Labour faces being accused of watering down guarantees made to the British public in the wake of the abolition of capital punishment in 1965.
The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act, passed that year, said: ‘No person shall suffer death for murder, and a person convicted of murder shall…. be sentenced to imprisonment for life.’
In separate moves announced by the Government, murderers who strangle their victims or kill at the end of a relationship will get tougher sentences.’
HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow. The Law Commission has previously recommended creating a ‘second degree murder’ tier which would be applied in cases of where the offender is ruled to have ‘diminished responsibility
Both circumstances will be treated as an aggravating factor, allowing longer punishments.
Ms Mahmood said: ‘We are cracking down on violence against women and creating safer streets.
‘I fully recognise the concerns raised around homicide law and sentencing, but these are incredibly complex issues and previous tinkering is what has led to the current disparities, so it is right that the Law Commission takes a comprehensive look at it.’
The current murder sentencing framework in England and Wales was last reformed in 2003 and officials said ‘piecemeal’ changes since then had led to discrepancies.
For example, a killer who murders with a knife taken to the scene of the crime with intent faces a 25-year starting point in their punishment, while another killer who uses a knife that was already at the scene faces a 15-year starting point.
It means domestic knife murders in the home receive lower sentences than similar crimes committed in a public place.
