SENTENCING FOR MURDER: Exploring Public Knowledge and Public Opinion in England and Wales

In 1965, it was thought that nothing less than a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment would be an acceptable replacement for the death penalty for murder in England and Wales. It was assumed that anything else would have led to a significant loss of public confidence in the criminal justice syste...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of criminology 2012-01, Vol.52 (1), p.141-158
Main Authors: Mitchell, Barry, Roberts, Julian V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capital punishment
Criminal justice
Criminal sentences
Criminal sentencing
Criminals
Homicide
Imprisonment
Judicial process
Jurisdiction
Murder
Prisons
Public opinion
Public opinion surveys
Sentenced offenders
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Summary:In 1965, it was thought that nothing less than a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment would be an acceptable replacement for the death penalty for murder in England and Wales. It was assumed that anything else would have led to a significant loss of public confidence in the criminal justice system. The authors have recently conducted what is believed to be the first survey in this country that tests this assumption, as well as the extent of public knowledge and belief of the current system for sentencing convicted murderers. The survey casts doubt over the assumption and highlights the misunderstanding and lack of knowledge on which public opinion is based.
ISSN:0007-0955
1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azr073