El. knyga: Exploring the Mandatory Life Sentence for Murder

England and Wales abolished the death penalty for murder but set up a mandatory life sentence as part of the Homicide Act of 1957 and the Murder Act of 1965. Through a comprehensive survey, Mitchell (criminal law and criminal justice, Coventry U., UK) and Roberts (criminology, U. of Oxford, UK) assess public attitude toward this aspect of criminal justice and report on it here. The book then closes with a series of recommendations. It begins with tables of cases and statutory provisions from England and Wales, and closes with an appendix that shows the survey instrument used in conducting the study. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Murder is often regarded as both the "ultimate" and a unique crime; and whereas courts are normally given discretion in sentencing offenders, for murder, the sentence is mandatory - indeterminate imprisonment. Since the crime and the punishment come as a "package deal," this book looks at both the legal nature of the offense and the current operation of the mandatory life sentence in the UK. Not only does the book adopt a critical approach, by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the status quo, but it also draws upon comparative material from both common and civil law jurisdictions in an attempt to provide a comprehensive exploration of these issues. The need for public confidence in the criminal justice system is particularly acute in the way it deals with the most serious homicides. The book reports on findings from Britain's first systematic exploration of public attitudes to sentencing murder. The picture of public opinion emerging from this recent, large-scale, nationwide qualitative and quantitative survey, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, is likely to surprise many, and will be of interest to all jurisdictions where the mandatory life sentence for murder has been questioned.