§ Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of people sentenced to life imprisonment following the abolition of capital punishment; how 467W many appealed against their sentence; and how many of these subsequent appeals were upheld.
§ Mr. CarlisleThe information requested is available only for complete calendar years. In England and Wales from 1966 to 1969 inclusive, the number of persons sentenced to life imprisonment was 379, of whom 267 were convicted of murder. During this period, appeals made by 61 persons against such a sentence in respect of crimes other than murder were determined; of these four were successful.
The sentence for murder is fixed by law as imprisonment for life for those aged 18 years and over at the time the offence was committed, and detention during Her Majesty's pleasure for those under the age of 18 at that time. An appeal against sentence for murder can, therefore, arise only where it appears that the sentence was invalid having regard to the age of the person convicted.
Since 1966, there have been two such appeals. In each case, the sentence was varied from life imprisonment to detention during Her Majesty's pleasure.