On 19 March, the Irish Sentencing Information System (ISIS) published an analysis of manslaughter sentences from 2007- 2012. The ISIS was established in 2007 as a pilot scheme to plan for and provide information on sentencing decisions. The report provides an analysis of sentences handed down to those convicted of manslaughter over the past six years.
The report was written by a judicial researcher and supervised by a High Court Judge.
The report highlights certain key points:
According to the report, Irish sentencing practice promotes a “discursive approach” with considerable emphasis on judicial discretion. The UK has opted for a more “structured approach” and has produced guidelines for the judiciary and monitors the impact of practice there. Tom O’Malley, Senior Lecturer in Law at NUI Galway has argued that sentencing, in order to comply with the demands of justice, must remain discretionary and that the selection of sentence in a given case must remain a judicial task.
Click here to read the report from the ISIS.
Click here to read an article from the Irish Times.
Click here to read an analysis of the current procedures from the Irish Independent.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Commons Justice Select Committee, compiled of Members of Parliament (MPs), raised serious concerns about the use of force to restrain young offenders in detention.
The report, issued last week, is the result of a year-long inquiry into the youth justice system in the UK. The report looks at local authority secure homes, young offenders’ institutions and secure training centres. It reveals that 8,419 incidents of physical restraint were recorded in 2011/12. 254 of these incidents led to injuries and two teenagers have died in restraint-related incidents in privately run secure training centres. The report provides an analysis on young offenders in care and suggests that the youth justice system is currently failing these children, noting they are “effectively being abandoned” by social services.
The wide ranging report also recommends that criminal convictions of very early and non persistent offenders be erased from a young person’s record at the age of 18.
The calls for reform have been welcomed and supported by MPs and penal reform groups. Andrew Neilson from the Howard League for Penal Reform said “the present system is long past its use-by date.”
Click here to read a report from the BBC.
Click here to read an article from The Guardian.
Click here to read a press release from Youth Justice Board.
In other criminal justice news, the European Court of Human rights (ECtHR) yesterday adjourned the consideration of cases on UK prisoners’ voting rights until 30 September 2013. Bulletin readers may remember that in November 2012 the Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Draft Bill was presented to parliament. The Committee of Ministers (of the Council of Europe) is overseeing the progress of this draft Bill and will resume consideration of the situation at its meeting in September 2013. In light of this, the Strasbourg Court has decided to adjourn pending applications on UK prisoners’ voting rights until the end of September. In the meantime, the Court has invited the Committee of Ministers to keep it regularly informed on its progress.
Click here to read a BBC news article.
Click here to read a Council of Europe, Human Rights Europe blog article.