I think Andy Burnham is making a mistake with PC Harper’s killers

[SereneFinch]

Of course no-one wants to see them released early but to single out a particular case for political reasons undermines our justice system doesn’t it?

Everyone must be treated the same and to not will invite some sort of appeal from them and no doubt result in lengthy reviews and hearings about their treatment. Which costs money and gives them more attention.

Plus there will be many other cases where an early release is equally infuriating but those families won’t be heard.

Michael Howard did this with the Bulger case and it resulted in sentencing powers being taken away from the Home Secretary and put solely in the hands of judges.

I think this is going to be a huge problem for him if he’s not careful.

But it wasn't his policy - it was Starmer's (necessitated by the lack of investment in prison places).

Personally, if I were to list all the different categories of crimes so as to choose who to release, murderers would not be anywhere near the top of that list.

We shouldn't be releasing murderers early AT ALL. They are not just in prison as a punishment for their crimes, they are there to protect the general public from harm.

This is why he has to look at categories of prisoners not individuals. I think murder/manslaughter of an emergency worker is now a specific offence so for future cases they could prioritise it.

I agree! I can’t see how some PPs can’t see that these people put their lives in the line for the rest of us

He is making so many mistakes. He will be another U turn leader with no mandate.

What a bullshit response. Fortunately society disagrees with you and has already decided that the sentence for killing a police officer or other emergency worker has a higher starting point. Since 2022 it is a mandatory life sentence under Harpers Law.

Would your "morals" see Harpers Law revoked?

I don't care if they get out early and I don't think the prime minister whoever they are should be constantly u turning just to appease the public.

In this case a bullet each would be sufficient. And cheaper.

happy to buy.

The government are between a rock and a hard place with this and the family getting the media on board has helped hugely. Good for them , but it won’t be the same for others as their cases are not as high profile.

I’m not sure what you mean by this @Madamefroufrou but we don’t kill people for capital crimes. They get longer sentences.

What many seem to be missing is that either all manslaughter criminals are allowed early release or none of them are. That's the law and it would take primary legislation to change that, and by the time that was done, the prisons would be full. If no manslaughter criminals are let out, then the prisons will be full unless another category are instead let out, and presumably none of you want to see rapists released early, so what other category do you suggest? The suggestion about foreign criminals is definitely one to consider, but again there's a limit to what can be done without changes to the law.

We do now have a separate category of crime for death or injury to emergency worker, it just wasn't in place when PC Harper was killed. I do think though that manslaughter covers a huge range of crimes, and inevitably some of them will be deemed more "worthy" of early release, e.g. killing after years of abuse, such as https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjdyexkvg4o or (if she hadn't already been released) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47407204. But as the law stands, we can't make that distinction.

None of this means that I don't feel very sorry for PC Harper's family, but there will be many other families feeling exactly the same way who just aren't making the news but if we knew their stories we'd also want their killers to stay in prison. But what I want more than anything is criminals to be rehabilitated - most are not inherently evil and with the right care, education and opportunities would not have ended up as criminals and I genuinely believe that their lives could still be turned round if only the resources and the will were there to do that.

Put down the Daily Mail. Engage with his inheritance.

that is what I said, it is self explanatory, up until the mid sixties ‘cop killers’
were executed (hanged) - this is a verifiable fact, now we don’t, capital
punishment considered abhorrent in a civilised society, which your reply
has confirmed