Independent UK: 'Sentencing frenzy' will fill prisons within weeks

[marmar]

from the Independent UK:



The leader of Britain's prison governors accused magistrates of indulging in a sentencing "feeding frenzy" as prisons near capacity. Eoin McLennan-Murray, president of the Prison Governors Association (PGA), said courts had shown "naked popularism" in meting out tough justice after the riots.

Seven in 10 of those charged with riot-related offences have been remanded in custody, likely to receive a custodial sentence, compared with only one in 10 of those charged with serious offences last year. The PGA warns that if people continue to be put behind bars at such a rate, prisons will be full by mid-September.

"It's like when you've got sharks and there's blood in the water and it's a feeding frenzy. There's a sentencing frenzy and we seem to have lost all sight of proportionality," Mr McLennan-Murray said. "It's appealing to the populist mentality, and that's not the best basis on which to sentence people. The norms of sentencing are being ignored."

The prison population in England and Wales reached a record high for the third consecutive week last Friday as the courts continue to jail hundreds of people involved in the riots. The total number of prisoners hit 86,821, after a further 167 people were jailed. The population is now only 1,500 short of the usable operational capacity. Scotland Yard has warned its investigations are "far from finished" despite having already made more than 2,000 arrests. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sentencing-frenzy-will-fill-prisons-within-weeks-2345256.html