When does life not mean life? When it refers to the period of imprisonment handed down to a convicted murderer. As The Herald reveals today, this can be anything from less than five years to 44 years.
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A flawed sentence
When does life not mean life? When it refers to the period of imprisonment handed down to a convicted murderer. As The Herald reveals today, this can be anything from less than five years to 44 years. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show not only that a life sentence can be short for some murderers and long for others, they also reveal that the average length of a life sentence fell from 15 years and three months in 1997 to 13 years and six months last year. Care must be taken in interpreting this trend as the average sentence can fluctuate from year to year.
