Life sentences for children in England and Wales

• In Event: Children convicted of homicide: criminal justice responses

Abstract

Growing numbers of children (aged under 18) in England and Wales have been sentenced to ‘life’ over the last 20 years, and the number of years that a judge must consider as their ‘starting point’ for the custodial part of the child’s sentence significantly increased in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 from 12 years to, up to 27 years. This is despite one of the primary aims of sentencing children being the welfare of the child. Little is known about the impact of this legislative change on sentencing decisions and the characteristics of children serving life sentences. This paper draws on official data, in England and Wales, and an analysis of published sentencing remarks delivered by judges in cases in which children were sentenced to life, to explore changes in sentencing outcomes and the purported purpose of such sentences.

Author

• Susie Hulley, University of Cambridge