On 11 June the Law Reform Commission published a report on mandatory sentences. The main recommendations are:
- The current mandatory life sentence for murder should be retained, with the addition of an option for the judge to recommend a minimum term to be served for an offender sentenced to life imprisonment.
- The Parole Board should be established as an independent statutory body. The Commission welcomed the government’s proposed legislation to this effect.
- The current presumptive sentencing for certain drug and firearms offences should be repealed and not be extended to other offences. Presumptive sentencing sets up a legal presumption that a particular sentence will apply, while also providing for certain exceptional circumstances in which this presumption may not apply. The Commission report said that the drugs trade had adapted to the current minimum sentences regime, with the result that those sentenced under these provisions tended to be dispensable couriers and other low level offenders rather than major actors in the drug trade.
- Current legislation concerning mandatory sentences (and, where relevant, presumptive sentences) that applies in the case of second and subsequent offences should also be repealed and should not be extended to any other offences.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) strongly welcomed the Commission’s recommendations, particularly those relating to presumptive and mandatory minimum sentences. IPRT Executive Director Liam Herrick stated, “Mandatory sentencing does not act as a deterrent or provide for greater consistency or proportionality in sentencing. Instead, it has increased the number of low-level offenders serving lengthy sentences in prisons, at great expense to the taxpayer with no positive impact on crime rates.” However, IPRT expressed their regret that an earlier Law Reform Commission recommendation to repeal the mandatory life sentence for murder was not included stating, “IPRT believes that, even for murder, judges should be able to distinguish between more and less heinous offences.”
Click here to view a press release from IPRT.
Click here to view the Law Reform Commission report in full.