Over 10,000 people have signed a petition calling for the removal of the 28-day time limit from the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) Scheme for murder convictions, including over 100 people in my constituency of Bolton South and Walkden.
As it stands, under the ULS, the Attorney General and Solicitor General have the power to refer sentences for serious offences that they believe are too lenient to the the Court of Appeal for reassessment. However, they can only do this within 28 days of the sentence being imposed.
I can understand why many people want to see this time limit removed in the case of murders, including the person who started this petition, who said:
“I am campaigning for this change because my sister was murdered in 2013. We believe her killer meets the criteria for a whole life order but he was only given a minimum sentence of 35 years. We believe this is too low, and that we should have the right to apply to have this sentence reviewed.”
The Government has responded to the petition because it received over 10,000 signatures. You can read the full response here, but the most relevant paragraphs are:
“While we can understand calls for the limit to be extended, particularly for victims and their families, Parliament intended the ULS scheme to be an exceptional power. It is important that there is finality in sentencing, and that we avoid ongoing uncertainty, for both victims and offenders, about the sentence to be served. Any expansion of the scheme must therefore be carefully considered.
“The Law Commission is undertaking a review of criminal appeals, which includes the ULS scheme. On 27th February, they launched a public consultation which invites views on a range of reforms to the ULS Scheme, including on extensions of the statutory time limit. The consultation is open to all and runs until 30 May, and responses from those with experience or interest are strongly encouraged. Responses to the consultation may be submitted using an online form at: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/law-commission/criminalappeals.
“We recommend reading the full consultation paper before responding to this consultation. If anyone cannot or does not wish to, they can read the summary consultation paper and respond to it here (https://consult.justice.gov.uk/law-commission/criminalappealssummary).
“The Government will carefully consider the recommendations made in the Law Commission final report in due course.”
When the Law Commission publishes its final report into criminal appeals, we will be able to see what proposed changes, if any, it has for the ULS scheme and press the Government to implement them.