What happens to criminals who are serving a whole life order when they are charged with offences?
Posted by hwrold@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 15 comments
I just read that David Carrick has been charged with 8 offences of rape and sexual assault.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment last year so with my limited understanding of the legal system, are these further offences ones which he was previously charged with but not convicted at the time, but was already guilty of enough to go down for life, or are they cases which were unknown of until after he was already serving time in prison.
Either way, if somebody is currently serving a whole life order, what actually can change for them in terms of their punishment?
If someone could explain in simpletons terms that would be great.
imminentmailing463@reddit
Assuming they're found guilty of the new crimes, from the offender's point of view, the big thing is that it means even if the thing they're serving life for is quashed, they won't be released because there's other things they're serving time for.
But the main purpose of doing it is to deliver justice. The point of the justice system isn't to imprison people, it's to deliver justice. That means even if someone is serving 10 life terms, they must be tried if they are accused of a new crime and further punished if found guilty. That's the only just thing to do.
hwrold@reddit (OP)
What might that further punishment entail?
DancingMaenad@reddit
Most people with life sentences don't necessarily have life without the possibility of parole. But additional charges make parole less likely and can make it longer until a criminal qualifies for parole.
sloth_ers@reddit
Being sexually assaulted by a badger
LopsidedVictory7448@reddit
Oh dear. So Jeremy Clarkson might be right ?
Usual-Excitement-970@reddit
They take away their birthday.
imminentmailing463@reddit
Whatever the judge decides the appropriate punishment is for whatever they're found guilty of. It doesn't matter if they're already serving a hundred years in prison, it's an important point of principle of justice that if they are found guilty of another crime with a 5 year sentence, they are given that sentence. Even if in practice it makes no difference to them.
dbxp@reddit
I guess it has the bonus of closing a case off. If you know a certain person did a crime then you can stop searching for other people.
imminentmailing463@reddit
Indeed, and probably more importantly, closure for the victims.
It tells the victims that somebody has been tried and convicted for the crime that affected them. That person may have already been destined for life in prison. But it gives the victims knowledge that their particular crime has been addressed.
smoulderstoat@reddit
David Carrick hasn't been given a whole life order. A whole life order (or whole life tariff) means exactly that: life without the possibility of parole. It is reserved for the most serious murders with aggravating factors.
Carrick has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a tariff (a minimum term) of thirty years. So after that period he may be considered for release on licence. Conviction for further offences would make it less likely that he'd be released at that time.
And, obviously, it's in the public interest for serious offences to be prosecuted, because people committing these offences need to know that they will be brought to justice, and victims and the public have the right to see justice done.
hwrold@reddit (OP)
I forgot that life imprisonment is different to a whole life order. Thanks
HotLyps@reddit
I think in the UK a whole life order is essentially the most serious punishment that can be handed down. In that regard there is little more that the system can do to someone to punish them more severely.
However, I believe there is a review period for whole life terms (25 years if memory serves me correctly). Also, prisoners can appeal their sentence as being unduly harsh. Obviously, in either case, additional convictions will weigh heavily on the outcome of those reviews/appeals, with the determination that the prisoner is 'too dangerous to ever be released' being a highly likely result if there are multiple convictions.
There are also symbolic and practical ramifications for the victim(s) of the crime(s). If we simply abandoned all proceeding following the initial whole life term, victims of the remaining crime(s) would not receive the public acknowledgement that they were wronged by the perpetrator and the very real closure that such a judgement brings. Additionally, under some circumstances, victims of crime are entitled to a level of compensation. Given the general severity of any crime involving whole life term, I suspect that this compensation will be scant relative to the loss, but on a practical level it will be of some assistance.
hwrold@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the reply
bizzyd666@reddit
The likelihood is that these are new allegations that came to light after he was already convicted and imprisoned. It's a common occurrence with high profile incidents like his were.
The other alternative is that these were allegations previously known about, and there is either new evidence or a review of them post conviction. In this case, CPS would have taken no further action on some specific charges. So, like I said, there may be new evidence that has come to light, which changes their decision. Or, after an appeal by police, the victim, or just CPS reviewing and changing their mind, they decide to now charge him with these other things.
It won't make a difference to his sentence in all likelihood. It can make a difference if someone is serving, say 10 years, as a sentence for a new conviction could ordered to be served consecutively to the current one.
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