Who does the home secretary want to lock up for life?
Mr Blunkett says a “whole life” sentence should be the normal punishment for any adult convicted in the most serious cases of murder. That would include children who had been abducted, or subjected to an attack of a sexual or sadistic nature. This category would also include multiple murders where there was a high degree of premeditation, abduction, or any sexual or sadistic element. Terrorists who kill, and any offender previously convicted of murder, would also be liable to spend the rest of their life behind bars. Can some other killers also expect to serve longer sentences in future? Yes. The intention is to have a second category of murder with a minimum prison term of 30 years. This sentence would be imposed in cases where a police or prison officer was killed in the line of duty, or the murderer used a firearm or explosives. It would also take in murders committed for financial gain…for example, during a burglary or robbery, or contract killings. This category would also inclu
