The child who confessed should get a reduced sentence?

Nope
he went out with intention of harming or killing
no reduced sentence for confession imo

The victims were children.

The murderers should stay in prison for the rest of their lives.

I don’t see what the mistaken identity has to do with anything, would it all of a sudden be ok if they murdered the correct people?

@ElatedShark i am interested in why you are calling the victims young men and the perpetrators children. Why is that?

as far as prison sentences go I do believe in rehabilitation and so if he can show a real change in himself while in prison I would be happy for the sentence to be reduced. Prisons often make people worse than better though.

Yes and no good can come of putting non-violent offenders in confined close quarters with violent offenders.

Totally throws the rehabilitation aspect out the window, and immerses less serious and often quite vulnerable offenders in an even worse world.

I question the purpose of jail for non-violent criminals . And I’m including sex offenders in the term violent offenders of course.

There can be other punishments surely such as community service for non-violent criminals.

I’m sure I read somewhere that some people - often women- who haven’t paid the tv licence fine have been imprisoned. That’s absurd and cruel.

They may well be. But you can’t sentence them for something they haven’t actually done

Given the limited number of prison places I would say it is absurd to say shoplifters are a greater problem that violent or sexual offenders. Its crime, but nowhere near as serious

@PassingStranger I doubt she'd say that if she worked in the thick of it in a prison as well!! They are all violent ime....

Shoplifting has a big effect on others. I doubt you'd say that if you ran a business and kept getting thieves in.

Shoplifters. FGS. I would rather than sex offenders who view child abuse were locked away than some pathetic thief. Choices need to be made

Did you not read what I said? If there is no violent offending to it then they should not be in prison. The case for public protection doesn’t exist. Life threatening, harm to the person, sex offending - that’s what prison is for, imo. Not junkies and thieves

Drug addicts and shoplifters should still serve their time! Violence is very very often part of their sentence as well!

What was the relationship.between the driver and the boys was he the father?
Why were their Windows bricked in the first place?

The release system is such a mess. I wish they would really prioritize violent and sexual offenders for prison terms and long ones. Drug addicts if not violent should be dealt with separately outside of prison, same with thieves. England might sentence harshly in principle but the release provisions make it a joke.

April-June saw a big increase. That is where the 73% figure comes from. As you say, nothing to do with the early release programme. Most of the recalls have been for non-compliance rather than further offending.

"I mean, the fact something like 73% of those released early just recently have been recalled for breaching the terms of their release, or new crime."

Really?

This report from the Daily Mail says that, of prisoners released at the normal half way point in Jan-March around 56% have since been recalled.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13986179/prisoners-released-jail-probation-chief-warns-overcrowding.html

The early release of prisoners at the 40% mark only began in September.

I would be interested to know where your figure of 73% comes from. Are you honestly claiming that of the 1,700 prisoners released early in September that 1,240 of them have been recalled to prison already?

Drivers just got 38 years for taking them in his car to the attack. Good.
Wonder how they caught them?
Was it worth it?
38 years inside when he could have just called the police and let them investigate or just let it go, like other people have too when something of theirs is broken or stolen.

Yes Scottish law is worse! It currently suggest that until you are 25 you are not mature so leniency is applied via sentencing guidelines. No sufficient account is taken of who commits crime, who is violent and what age they are. All of which suggests if public protection matters Scotland needs a very different approach.

Scottish law is different to English law. The 15-year-old was convicted of culpable homicide, which is not an offence in England. He was also helped by the Scottish sentencing guidelines which, due to pressure from the Scottish government, are significantly more lenient on young offenders than their equivalent south of the border. If he had committed the offence in England, he would definitely have been convicted of manslaughter and may have been convicted of murder. Either way, he would almost certainly have faced a longer sentence.

Yes that is absurd. The degree of violence combined with the impulsive nature of the killing should make everyone think differently about crimes like these. That would suggest more time in detention to protect the public.

Just read a case in Scotland where a 15 year old boy was given just 4 years detention for killing a bus driver 😏

Most violent crime is committed by young men under 24. We don’t sentence them correctly; they are actually more violent than older men. Youth justice has been preoccupied with human rights. It should also look again at risk to the public and sentence accordingly.

I through work got to know an ex deputy prison governor (ret'd).

He was of the 'don't release them' belief. He said so many of the violent inmates in his prison were, to his mind, un-rehabilitable.

I mean, the fact something like 73% of those released early just recently have been recalled for breaching the terms of their release, or new crime.

73%.

I think we need to look at the sort of age people reach when they finally 'grow up'. I have no stats but I understand it's around 45-50? When violent young men mature?
Maybe that should be a guide for sentencing.

Behave, engage with rehab, then maybe at 45-50 we'll consider allowing you back into society where people don't hack each other to death over vandalism.

No, he has not changed his plea. If he had he might get some credit for it. However, the sentence reduction for a guilty plea in a murder case is lower than for most other offences.

No he shouldn't get a reduced sentence. He did wrong, admitted to it, which is the right thing to do. He shouldn't get praised for doing the right thing, he shouldn't have done it in the first place. The others should get a lengthier sentence for not admitting to it IMO.