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Lifers defeat for Howard

01 July 1995

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Home Secretary Michael Howard suffered another rebuff at the hands of the House of Lords in June when the Lords voted for murderers to be told the judge's recommended minimum sentence in open court, with a right of appeal. This would replace the current secret system where, except in a few high-profile cases, the judge tells the Home Secretary in private what his recommended minimum is. An open system is demanded by the European Court of Human Rights, which has ruled that the current system depends too much on executive discretion, and violates prisoners' rights to liberty and security of person. Michael Howard is expected to reverse the defeat in the House of Commons, where his proposal to retain the behind-closed-doors discretion will probably go unopposed. Independent 27.6.95

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