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types of sentences - Coggle Diagram
types of sentences
mandatory life sentences
only sentence a judge can impose for a murder conviction is a life sentence, however, after imposing the mandatory life sentence, the judge must set the minimum number of years' imprisonment that the offender must serve before being eligible for release on licence - could be a minimum of 12 years to a max whole life order
mitigating factors include the offender has an intention to cause gbh not intention to kill, a lack of premeditation or that the offender acted to some extent in self-defence
aggravating factors that increase minimum term ordered by the judge include whether the victim was particularly vulnerable because of age or disability, or any mental or physical suffering inflicted in the victim before death
a further type of mandatory life sentence was introduced by lapso - if an offender commits a second serious crime then the court must impose a life sentence - serious offences include manslaughter, ss18 and 20 oapa 1861 and robbery
whole life order
this is imposed for an offence of murder where the sentencing judge decides that the offender is so dangerous, they should never be released from prison
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release on licence
when sentencing an offender the judge will impose a minimum term of imprisonment that has to be served - called a 'tariff' period - at the end of this time, the parole board will decide whether the offender is fit for release back into the community - they take into account: whether the offender admits the crime, considered to still be a danger, their behaviour during the tariff period
if offender is considered fir for release, this will be subject to conditions such as where they will live, what job they can take, wearing a tag and who they associate with
for offenders sentenced to a whole life term, these licence conditions will remain for the rest of their life - if the offender breaches any of the terms of the licence, they can be brought back to prison to serve a further term of imprisonment
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fixed term sentences
for the less serious crimes, max length of sentence will again be set by statue - for a fixed term - sentence imposed by judge or magistrates will depend on factors: seriousness of crime and defendant's previous record - length of sentence can be increased if it is racially or religiously aggravated
release on licence has to be approved by the parole board and may be subject to conditions such as residence and the need to report to the police station or probation service
only offenders over 21 can be given a sentence imprisonment - prisoners do not serve the whole of the sentence passed by the court: anyone sent to prison is released on licence after they have served half of the sentence
discharge
conditional discharge: court discharges offender on condition that they commit no further offence during a set period of 3 years - if reoffends, court can impose another sentence of conditional discharge, as well as imposing a penalty for the new offence - widely used in mc for first time minor offenders
absolute discharge: no penalty imposed - sentence often used when offender technically guilty but morally blameless - e.g. possession of cannabis for medical reason
custodial sentences
most serious punishment that a court can impose - range from a short period in custody to life imprisonment - different custodial sentences: mandatory life sentences, discretionary life sentences, fixed-term sentences and suspended sentences
custodial sentences are meant to be used for serious offences - confirmed in s152 CJA 2003 which states, "court must not pass a custodial sentence unless it is of the opinion that the offence and one or more offences associated with it was so serious that neither a fine alone not a community service can be justified for the offence
fine
most common sentence imposed in mc and very few in cc - when deciding amount of fine, the courts must take into account the income and assets of offender
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the main types of sentence than can be imposed on adult offenders are: custodial, community, fines and discharges