European Court of Human Rights Rules Whole Life Sentences Breach Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that ordering prisoners to serve the rest of their lives in prison without the prospect of release breaches their human rights.

Three murderers, Douglas Vinter, Jeremy Bamber and Peter Moore, all had a whole life sentence imposed on them for their crimes. They could never expect to be released, apart from in exceptional circumstances, such as on compassionate grounds.

They argued that never having the option to be released back into the community breached their right under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights not to be subject to ‘inhuman and degrading treatment’.

The Court agreed, although it noted that the prisoners did not have the prospect of imminent release.

Before commenting on the decision I shall explain the Court’s reasons (available here).

The Judgment

Firstly, the Court was keen to stress there is nothing in principle wrong with a prisoner serving a whole life sentence, so long as there is the prospect of it being reviewed and potentially reduced. It said, for example, there was nothing wrong with detaining a prisoner for life if they posed a danger to society, so long as the sentence could be reviewed.

However, the Court held that a whole life sentence must be capable of being reduced (and therefore reviewed) for four reasons.

1) the reasons for detention are not static and can change over time. For example, if a whole life sentence is imposed to punish a prisoner and because they are a danger to society this may change if the prisoner alters their life and can show they are no longer a danger to the public;

2) a prisoner can never ‘make up’ for their offence if they have no prospect of ever being released. Instead the punishment becomes worse over time the longer the prisoner lives;

3) it is against human dignity for the State to deprive a person of their freedom indefinitely without at least providing some chance of freedom in the future; and

4) the emphasis in European penal policy is now on rehabilitation, returning people to useful life.

Therefore any sentencing regime that does not allow for the review of a life sentence will breach an individual’s right not to be subject to inhuman and degrading treatment. Reviews are necessary; it was suggested after 25 years might be appropriate. Essentially then, whole life sentences are unlawful.

English law does not allow a review of a whole life sentence. It only provides that the power to release a prisoner can be used in exceptional circumstances, such as on compassionate grounds. It therefore breaches the Article 3 right of whole life prisoners not to be subject to inhuman and degrading treatment.

From this it becomes clear why the applicants in this case cannot expect imminent release. Life sentences are not wrong in principle, but refusing to review, and potentially reduce, them is.

Comment

I personally find this decision a difficult one to agree with. I do not disagree agree at all with the notion of a review. After all granting a review merely demonstrates our compassion, compassion which an offender will have denied their victim. It differentiates society from the offender.

However, I am not sure the decision makes logical sense. Under current law (found in Schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003) a whole life sentence can be imposed when the court considers the seriousness of the offence is ‘exceptionally high’. The order is imposed because the offence is so serious that our law judges it to be deserving of a whole life sentence. This assessment of seriousness, assuming it is correct, is unchanging: something that is exceptionally serious will remain exceptionally serious 25 years from now (presuming that murders do not become so much worse in the future that past murders appear less serious). So while a review may be necessary, what exactly will it achieve? If the assessment of the gravity of the offence remains the same then there will be no cause to reduce the sentence ever. It seems that any review will only be a formal process to satisfy the requirements of Article 3.

Our law on whole life sentences does not directly focus on the dangerousness of the offender or other related factors. It focuses only on the gravity of the offence. It makes the policy decision that those murders which are of exceptional gravity should be punished without the prospect of release. The real question therefore is not about the necessity to review any sentence. Instead, it is whether pure punishment alone can justify a whole life order? The UK Government would doubtlessly argue that it is our sovereign right to decide on which basis to sentence convicted individuals. Are we obliged to consider other factors, such as the rehabilitation of offenders?  I am not sure that a court is best placed to decide these inherently philosophical questions. Nevertheless, I believe that the European Court missed that this was the real point in this case.

It will be interesting to see how the Government decides to react to this judgment. It certainly is not pleased with it.

For more information generally on the European Convention on Human Rights, see this article.

What are your thoughts? Should we have whole life sentences? And should they be capable of review?