The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is to reconsider historical applications to review indeterminate sentences imposed on young people. So far the miscarriage of justice watchdog has referred 12 such cases where Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) was a factor. Eight have either had their sentence quashed, reduced or substituted.
The move comes after the Court of Appeal last year quashed sentences imposed on young adults Leighton Williams and Darren Hilling. In both cases it was determined that the sentencing judge had failed to attach the necessary importance to the age and maturity of the offender.
CCRC chair Dame Vera Baird KC said: 'This project is in its initial stages, but these Court of Appeal judgments provide an important opportunity to try and help other young people, who were in similar circumstances at the time of their conviction and who received sentences of this kind.’
IPP sentences were intended for serious offenders considered ’dangerous’ to the public, but whose crimes did not merit a life sentence. Detention for Public Protection sentences are also indeterminate, which were previously used for individuals under 18. Both were abolished in 2012, but IPP and DPP prisoners must still obtain Parole Board approval to be released.
In addition to reviewing historical applications, a specialist progress group led by a commissioner is working on current applications to determine whether any could be referred to the appellate courts as a result of the Williams and Hilling cases.
As of March this year, 2,544 prisoners were still serving IPP sentences. Earlier this week it was reported that the imminent trial of an alleged escapee who spent hours on the roof of a high-security prison will be the first time the stress caused by indeterminate sentences can be used as a legal defence.
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