MPs demand rethink of sentencing

Thursday, 4 November 2004 12:00 AM

An influential committee of MPs has called for a drastic rethink of the current sentencing system.

They say that alcohol and drug use should not be considered mitigating factors and murderers should not necessarily get a reduced sentence if they plead guilty.

Both measures were introduced by the Home Secretary David Blunkett in last year's Criminal Justice Act, which also set up the Sentencing Guidance Council (SGC). The body is chaired by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf, and in September 2004 published its first draft sentencing guidelines.

It is in its capacity as scrutinisers of the SGC that the Home Affairs Select Committee makes its recommendations.

Chairman of the cross-party group, John Denham, welcomed the opportunity to comment on the draft sentencing guidelines, saying: "On the 'seriousness' guideline, we wish to see 'being under the influence of drugs or alcohol' added to the list of factors for assessing the culpability of an offender.

"Although hard evidence is hard to come by, the Committee was concerned that being under the influence of drugs or alcohol is sometimes used by defendants as an excuse for their behaviour.

"The Committee believes that these arguments should be rejected by sentencers and that being under their influence should instead be an aggravating factor."

Calling for a change in the guidelines which mean that an individual pleading guilty can receive a reduced sentence, the MPs argue that any reduction should not be in addition to other reductions for mitigating circumstances.

Mr Denham said: "The Committee believes that Parliament wishes murder to be treated as significantly different to other offences. We do not believe that the current draft guidance fully reflects the wishes of Parliament or public disquiet about the reductions for a guilty plea.

"That is why we want to see sentencers advised that in the case of murder, reduction in sentence for a guilty plea should not normally be granted in addition to reductions for other mitigating circumstances.

"We accept that these may be some doubt as to whether the Sentencing Guidelines Council has the legal power to implement this change and we also express concern about the way the Criminal Justice Act was scrutinised by Parliament."

It suggests that new legislation may be required to clarify the will of Parliament and the legal position.

The Home Office points out that guilty pleas avoid the need for a trial and further trauma for the victim's family. However, Mr Blunkett has repeatedly insisted that life should mean life in murder cases, so he may be sympathetic to some of the MPs' suggestions.

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