New draft Sentencing Guidelines on 'manslaughter by reason of provocation' published
09 May 2005
The draft guidelines have been subject to extensive consultation. They have been drawn up following a reference from the former Home Secretary, David Blunkett. They aim to address his concern that sentences in such cases should reflect the seriousness of the offence and the loss of life.
The SGC guidelines recommend that, in most cases, even the victims of domestic violence should expect to go to prison if they kill someone, but acknowledge that such offences should be treated quite differently to murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence.
The SGC proposes starting points for sentences of between 3-12 years imprisonment. Recognising that individual circumstances will vary considerably, the Council recommends that judges take account of the nature and length of the provocation suffered (including actual abuse inflicted by the victim) in setting sentences. The Council acknowledges that women and men who are themselves – or whose children are - subject to continual violence may experience a "slow-burn" reaction. It also says that the use of a weapon may - in some circumstances - reflect the imbalance in strength between the offender and the victim, rather than be an aggravating factor.
Commenting on the draft guidelines, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Woolf, who chairs the SGC, said:
"This is a very difficult area in which to be prescriptive, as the individual, tragic circumstances of each case vary considerably. In responding to the call for guidelines in this area, we have had to strike a difficult balance between, on the one hand, recognising the sanctity of human life while, on the other, acknowledging the appalling plight of women and men who find themselves and their children trapped in abusive relationships."
Council member, Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, added:
"The Council is made up of people from varied backgrounds, including judges, lawyers and academics, as well as police officers such as myself. Council members have each brought different experiences and perspectives to bear on this difficult task and have also consulted widely. We have been particularly keen to ensure a proper place for the views of victims' families and have commissioned changes alongside these draft guidelines to the way in which the prosecution team (Police and CPS) present these issues to the court.
"We hope by publishing these guidelines in draft, we will be able to have the benefit of further views, before we finalise our recommendations. We will continue to listen carefully to all the feedback that we get," he concluded.
The draft guidelines can be found on the Sentencing Guidelines Council's website, together with the advice of the Sentencing Advisory Panel on the issue, which is also published today. Follow the link on the right to visit their site.