Sentencing

How does the 15-month jail term for environmental protester Violet Coco compare to other sentences?

Activist’s jailing for a peaceful protest has shocked many, as less than 6% of people charged with environmental pollution and property damage offences are sent to prison

Nino Bucci

09, Dec, 2022 @3:45 AM

Prisons are an overflowing, squalid, absurd waste of money. So why do the public want more of them? | Polly Toynbee

We know longer sentences do more harm than good. Let’s focus our resources on threadbare public services instead, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

Polly Toynbee

02, Dec, 2022 @8:00 AM

Serial cyberstalker Matthew Hardy has jail term cut

Jail term reduced by a year from original sentencing at Chester crown court

Matthew Weaver

06, Oct, 2022 @3:35 PM

The Guardian view on indefinite sentences: still blighting thousands of lives | Editorial

Editorial: Prisoners detained under the abolished imprisonment for public protection scheme deserve justice

Editorial

28, Sep, 2022 @5:52 PM

Managers jailed after food waste workers drowned in pig feed

Leicester court found gross negligence at Greenfeeds Ltd led to deaths of Nathan Walker and Gavin Rawson in 2016

Jessica Murray

16, Jun, 2022 @9:46 PM

Anomalies in court system are adding to huge case backlog | Letters

Letters: Nicky Ottaway explains how recategorising certain cases could relieve the pressure on crown courts. And I Stephanie Boyce, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, writes of a desperate need for funding

Letters

02, Feb, 2022 @5:02 PM

The Guardian view on waiting for justice: Raab seeks a shortcut | Editorial

Editorial: Boosting the sentencing power of magistrates is the wrong way to reduce a huge backlog of criminal cases

Editorial

30, Jan, 2022 @6:30 PM

Capitol rioters hit with severe sentences and sharp reprimands from judges

Some of the longest sentences have gone to rioters charged with ‘assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon’

Maya Yang

23, Dec, 2021 @10:00 AM

Sentences must be decided by the judges | Letter

Letter: With regard to ‘Harper’s law’, Malcolm Fowler is against hobbling the court’s discretion by striving to ram square pegs into round holes

Letters

28, Nov, 2021 @4:50 PM

‘Harper’s law’ will not be retrospective, says Raab, as lawyers express disquiet

Killers of PC Andrew Harper will not have sentences extended as legal experts fear law change will remove judges’ discretion

Rajeev Syal and Matthew Weaver

24, Nov, 2021 @4:30 PM

‘Harper’s law’: killing emergency workers to bring life sentence

Law change named for PC Andrew Harper, who was dragged by car after answering burglary call

Sarah Marsh

24, Nov, 2021 @12:01 AM

Don’t extend magistrates’ powers – there’s a better way to reform the court system | Letters

Letters: Richard Lomax and Alasdair Darroch respond to a suggestion from the Magistrates Association to clear the backlog of crown court cases

Letters

10, Oct, 2021 @4:17 PM