Latest news with #SentencingGuidelines
Belfast Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Government accused of ‘running scared' over bid to block sentencing guidelines
New guidance from the independent Sentencing Council would have recommended a pre-sentence report (PSR) be sought before sentencing offenders from ethnic, cultural or faith minorities. Pre-sentence reports provide information about the offender's background, circumstances of their offence, the risk they pose and suitability for certain types of sentence. The use of these reports has been linked to higher rate of community, rather than prison sentences. The Government brought forward the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reporters) Bill to block the new guidelines, arguing that it would lead to a differential treatment under the law and a 'two-tier' justice system. The implementation of the updated rulebook has been put on hold to allow Parliament to consider this legislation. However, supporters of the guidance argued that the UK already has a 'two-tier' justice system, due to entrenched racial bias. The Lammy Review, published in 2017, found disparities in outcome across the justice system for those from minority backgrounds compared to their white counterparts, including in sentencing. As the House of Lords debated the Government's Bill during its second reading, Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb argued that politicians were trying to 'interfere' with the workings of an independent body. She said: 'The Sentencing Council is an independent body that saw a problem and tried to do something about it. 'It has done what it was designed to do and now the Labour Government is running scared of these rather nasty right-wingers who are trying to interfere. 'I think it was Elon Musk, perhaps amongst others, who first said that Britain had a two-tier justice system. 'And he was right, that is exactly what we have, because some groups are worse treated than others. 'We do not have equality under the law. 'We've known about women being less fairly treated for decades, with women being imprisoned for things that men would not be. 'The Sentencing Council came up with the mildest of changes to address that issue and has been slammed for it…. 'When the Government says it wants equality under the law, everybody wants that. 'But the difference is that I accept the evidence that we currently have a two-tier system of justice where you can end up receiving worse treatment because you're a woman or because of the colour of your skin.' The Bishop of Gloucester, the Anglican bishop for prisons, branded the Bill 'theatrical' and unnecessary, brought on by 'am-dram politics'. The Rt Rev Rachel Treweek said: 'In a world of sufficient resources, there would be comprehensive pre-sentencing reports for everyone to which careful attention was paid in court. 'But if we have to prioritise PSRs, then it makes sense to prioritise those that we know are especially vulnerable or where there is evidence of disproportionate outcomes from the justice system.' Referring to the Lammy Review, she asked: 'Does the Government believe the issues raised in the landmark report by the current Foreign Secretary almost eight years ago are now a thing of the past? 'Is there no role for judges in mitigating the issues raised in that report? 'The use of the Sentencing Council guidelines to apparently feed a culture war is distressing, and the allegation of two-tier sentencing based around race, religion, belief or cultural background is so damaging to public understanding… 'We cannot pretend that circumstances and characteristics do not matter.' However, unaffiliated peer Baroness Fox of Buckley hit back at the culture war argument, branding it a 'slur'. She said: 'The popular critique of criminal justice as 'two-tier', that actually really resonated, particularly in relation to the sentencing post-last summer's riots, was sneeringly dismissed as a far-right conspiratorial myth by many ministers and politicians. 'It was written off as some culture wars trope, and we've heard similar slurs here today.' She criticised the 'tendency to try and use criminal justice to compensate for perceived racial unfairness and alleged social injustices'. Responding, prisons minister Lord Timpson said: 'Implementing a sentencing guideline, which could lead to differential treatment before the law, puts trust in the legal system at risk, which is why we acted quickly to address this… 'The Government's objective is to help ensure equality before the law. We are clear that an offender should be judged by a court on an individual basis according to the particular facts and circumstances of their case. 'It is not for the Sentencing Council to set in guidance that judgments should be made on the basis of personal characteristics like race or ethnicity. 'Any reference to preferential treatment for a particular cohort is unacceptable.' He insisted that tackling disproportionate outcomes within the criminal justice system is 'a policy matter' to be determined by the Government, not judges. However, he acknowledged the need to tackle inequalities and told peers that the Government has commissioned a review into data held by the Ministry of Justice on racial disparities and will 'carefully consider next steps'.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Government accused of ‘running scared' over bid to block sentencing guidelines
The Government has been accused of 'running scared of rather nasty right-wingers' over plans to block new sentencing guidelines. New guidance from the independent Sentencing Council would have recommended a pre-sentence report (PSR) be sought before sentencing offenders from ethnic, cultural or faith minorities. Pre-sentence reports provide information about the offender's background, circumstances of their offence, the risk they pose and suitability for certain types of sentence. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement The use of these reports has been linked to higher rate of community, rather than prison sentences. The Government brought forward the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reporters) Bill to block the new guidelines, arguing that it would lead to a differential treatment under the law and a 'two-tier' justice system. The implementation of the updated rulebook has been put on hold to allow Parliament to consider this legislation. However, supporters of the guidance argued that the UK already has a 'two-tier' justice system, due to entrenched racial bias. The Lammy Review, published in 2017, found disparities in outcome across the justice system for those from minority backgrounds compared to their white counterparts, including in sentencing. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement As the House of Lords debated the Government's Bill during its second reading, Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb argued that politicians were trying to 'interfere' with the workings of an independent body. She said: 'The Sentencing Council is an independent body that saw a problem and tried to do something about it. 'It has done what it was designed to do and now the Labour Government is running scared of these rather nasty right-wingers who are trying to interfere. 'I think it was Elon Musk, perhaps amongst others, who first said that Britain had a two-tier justice system. 'And he was right, that is exactly what we have, because some groups are worse treated than others. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'We do not have equality under the law. Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Stefan Rousseau/ PA credit) 'We've known about women being less fairly treated for decades, with women being imprisoned for things that men would not be. 'The Sentencing Council came up with the mildest of changes to address that issue and has been slammed for it…. 'When the Government says it wants equality under the law, everybody wants that. 'But the difference is that I accept the evidence that we currently have a two-tier system of justice where you can end up receiving worse treatment because you're a woman or because of the colour of your skin.' The Bishop of Gloucester, the Anglican bishop for prisons, branded the Bill 'theatrical' and unnecessary, brought on by 'am-dram politics'. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement The Rt Rev Rachel Treweek said: 'In a world of sufficient resources, there would be comprehensive pre-sentencing reports for everyone to which careful attention was paid in court. 'But if we have to prioritise PSRs, then it makes sense to prioritise those that we know are especially vulnerable or where there is evidence of disproportionate outcomes from the justice system.' Referring to the Lammy Review, she asked: 'Does the Government believe the issues raised in the landmark report by the current Foreign Secretary almost eight years ago are now a thing of the past? 'Is there no role for judges in mitigating the issues raised in that report? ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'The use of the Sentencing Council guidelines to apparently feed a culture war is distressing, and the allegation of two-tier sentencing based around race, religion, belief or cultural background is so damaging to public understanding… 'We cannot pretend that circumstances and characteristics do not matter.' Prisons minister Lord Timpson (Ben Whitley/ PA credit) However, unaffiliated peer Baroness Fox of Buckley hit back at the culture war argument, branding it a 'slur'. She said: 'The popular critique of criminal justice as 'two-tier', that actually really resonated, particularly in relation to the sentencing post-last summer's riots, was sneeringly dismissed as a far-right conspiratorial myth by many ministers and politicians. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'It was written off as some culture wars trope, and we've heard similar slurs here today.' She criticised the 'tendency to try and use criminal justice to compensate for perceived racial unfairness and alleged social injustices'. Responding, prisons minister Lord Timpson said: 'Implementing a sentencing guideline, which could lead to differential treatment before the law, puts trust in the legal system at risk, which is why we acted quickly to address this… 'The Government's objective is to help ensure equality before the law. We are clear that an offender should be judged by a court on an individual basis according to the particular facts and circumstances of their case. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'It is not for the Sentencing Council to set in guidance that judgments should be made on the basis of personal characteristics like race or ethnicity. 'Any reference to preferential treatment for a particular cohort is unacceptable.' He insisted that tackling disproportionate outcomes within the criminal justice system is 'a policy matter' to be determined by the Government, not judges. However, he acknowledged the need to tackle inequalities and told peers that the Government has commissioned a review into data held by the Ministry of Justice on racial disparities and will 'carefully consider next steps'.
South Wales Argus
30-04-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Diane Abbott criticises Government for rejecting Sentencing Council guidance
The Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said Government efforts to block guidelines from the Sentencing Council raise a question as to how seriously ministers 'are prepared to take the proven history of racial discrimination in our criminal justice system'. The Government brought forward the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill after new guidelines for judges to consider a criminal's ethnicity before sentencing prompted claims of a 'two-tier' justice system. The draft legislation cleared the Commons on Wednesday evening after MPs voted 214 to three, majority 211, to approve it at third reading. It aims to clarify that guidance relating to sentencing reports should not single out specific groups of people for differential treatment when it comes to ordering pre-sentencing reports, which help judges make decisions. New guidelines from the independent Sentencing Council were scheduled to come into force earlier this month but were delayed due to the Bill tabled by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. During debate on the Bill's final stages Ms Abbott told the Commons: 'I entirely agree with members that are making the case that we should all be equal before the law. 'The problem is that the statistics, the figures show that is not the case, and it's not been the case for decades. 'If you look at the figures for the numbers of people in prison, black people make up 12% of the prison population, and yet we only make up 4% of the general population.' Ms Abbott added: 'My concern is that for short-term political advantage, we're putting forward a hurried Bill which carries the risk of undermining the Sentencing Council and, indirectly, undermining the judiciary, and I don't believe that is in the interest of our legal system.' Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood tabled the Bill (PA) The council's guidelines for judges said a pre-sentence report would usually be needed before sentencing someone of an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women. The Bill would ban the Sentencing Council from making guidelines about pre-sentence reports with specific reference to an offender's personal characteristics. Ms Abbott highlighted that the guidelines referred to a number of characteristics, as well as ethnicity. She said: 'My view is the real issue underlining this legislation is how seriously this House, and ministers, in particular are prepared to take the proven history of racial discrimination in our criminal justice system and not just pay lip service, but do something about it. 'The poor Sentencing Council – they're scarcely young radicals. They're a group of very senior judges, but they know… that there is an issue of institutional racism in the cause. 'And they were just, in the mildest possible way, trying to make a suggestion in their guidelines about something which might help to make sure that everybody is treated the same.' Sian Berry, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, described the Bill as 'strange and populist' and said it would undermine 'efforts to make sure that equality before the law is a reality for everyone'. She said: 'I can't believe that ministers and shadow ministers are all unaware that achieving fair and equal outcomes does not mean treating everyone exactly the same.' She added: 'I can't believe they're unaware that systemic racism and unconscious bias are real things, that they do affect people at every stage of the criminal justice system still in the United Kingdom in 2025 or that the good practice we put together must mitigate against this, or else it will compound it.' Ms Berry also said that Tory shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick 'has scored a major win today from seizing this issue to stage another cultural ambush against another minority'. Green MP Sian Berry described the Bill as 'strange and populist' (PA) Ayoub Khan, Independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said: 'This Bill and the amendments in reality do not tackle two-tier justice in this country, in fact, they risk entrenching it. 'Our justice system is founded on a principle we all claim to uphold fairness and equality before the law, and yet today, we are being asked to support legislation that fundamentally undermines that principle.' Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Josh Babarinde told the Commons: 'This Bill and its amendments are rushed, knee-jerk and not the way to make policy about people's liberty, nor our constitution.' Shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan said the Conservative amendments would prevent history from repeating itself. He said: 'Without our amendment, history can repeat itself, the same council will be free to bring forward ideological frameworks that ministers will be powerless to stop before the damage is done. Had these guidelines gone unchallenged, we would have tilted sentencing based on identity politics, undermining public confidence in the entire system.' Before MPs approved the draft legislation, justice minister Sir Nic Dakin said: 'This Government strongly supports the use of pre-sentence reports which judges are required by law to obtain, except in circumstances where they consider such a report to be unnecessary. 'We also acknowledge that there are disparities within the criminal justice system which must be addressed, however, these are matters of policy and it is right for the Government to seek a policy response to these issues.' The Bill will undergo further scrutiny in the House of Lords at a later date.
Western Telegraph
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Diane Abbott criticises Government for rejecting Sentencing Council guidance
The Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said Government efforts to block guidelines from the Sentencing Council raise a question as to how seriously ministers 'are prepared to take the proven history of racial discrimination in our criminal justice system'. The Government brought forward the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill after new guidelines for judges to consider a criminal's ethnicity before sentencing prompted claims of a 'two-tier' justice system. The draft legislation cleared the Commons on Wednesday evening after MPs voted 214 to three, majority 211, to approve it at third reading. It aims to clarify that guidance relating to sentencing reports should not single out specific groups of people for differential treatment when it comes to ordering pre-sentencing reports, which help judges make decisions. If you look at the figures for the numbers of people in prison, black people make up 12% of the prison population, and yet we only make up 4% of the general population Diane Abbott New guidelines from the independent Sentencing Council were scheduled to come into force earlier this month but were delayed due to the Bill tabled by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. During debate on the Bill's final stages Ms Abbott told the Commons: 'I entirely agree with members that are making the case that we should all be equal before the law. 'The problem is that the statistics, the figures show that is not the case, and it's not been the case for decades. 'If you look at the figures for the numbers of people in prison, black people make up 12% of the prison population, and yet we only make up 4% of the general population.' Ms Abbott added: 'My concern is that for short-term political advantage, we're putting forward a hurried Bill which carries the risk of undermining the Sentencing Council and, indirectly, undermining the judiciary, and I don't believe that is in the interest of our legal system.' Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood tabled the Bill (PA) The council's guidelines for judges said a pre-sentence report would usually be needed before sentencing someone of an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women. The Bill would ban the Sentencing Council from making guidelines about pre-sentence reports with specific reference to an offender's personal characteristics. Ms Abbott highlighted that the guidelines referred to a number of characteristics, as well as ethnicity. She said: 'My view is the real issue underlining this legislation is how seriously this House, and ministers, in particular are prepared to take the proven history of racial discrimination in our criminal justice system and not just pay lip service, but do something about it. 'The poor Sentencing Council – they're scarcely young radicals. They're a group of very senior judges, but they know… that there is an issue of institutional racism in the cause. 'And they were just, in the mildest possible way, trying to make a suggestion in their guidelines about something which might help to make sure that everybody is treated the same.' This Bill and its amendments are rushed, knee-jerk and not the way to make policy about people's liberty Josh Babarinde Sian Berry, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, described the Bill as 'strange and populist' and said it would undermine 'efforts to make sure that equality before the law is a reality for everyone'. She said: 'I can't believe that ministers and shadow ministers are all unaware that achieving fair and equal outcomes does not mean treating everyone exactly the same.' She added: 'I can't believe they're unaware that systemic racism and unconscious bias are real things, that they do affect people at every stage of the criminal justice system still in the United Kingdom in 2025 or that the good practice we put together must mitigate against this, or else it will compound it.' Ms Berry also said that Tory shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick 'has scored a major win today from seizing this issue to stage another cultural ambush against another minority'. Green MP Sian Berry described the Bill as 'strange and populist' (PA) Ayoub Khan, Independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said: 'This Bill and the amendments in reality do not tackle two-tier justice in this country, in fact, they risk entrenching it. 'Our justice system is founded on a principle we all claim to uphold fairness and equality before the law, and yet today, we are being asked to support legislation that fundamentally undermines that principle.' Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Josh Babarinde told the Commons: 'This Bill and its amendments are rushed, knee-jerk and not the way to make policy about people's liberty, nor our constitution.' Shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan said the Conservative amendments would prevent history from repeating itself. He said: 'Without our amendment, history can repeat itself, the same council will be free to bring forward ideological frameworks that ministers will be powerless to stop before the damage is done. Had these guidelines gone unchallenged, we would have tilted sentencing based on identity politics, undermining public confidence in the entire system.' Before MPs approved the draft legislation, justice minister Sir Nic Dakin said: 'This Government strongly supports the use of pre-sentence reports which judges are required by law to obtain, except in circumstances where they consider such a report to be unnecessary. 'We also acknowledge that there are disparities within the criminal justice system which must be addressed, however, these are matters of policy and it is right for the Government to seek a policy response to these issues.' The Bill will undergo further scrutiny in the House of Lords at a later date.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
Former Wampum man pleads guilty in federal court to child porn charge
A former resident of Wampum has pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti announced April 23. Thomas Hyatt-Baney, age 21, pleaded guilty to one count before U.S. District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand. In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on June 25, 2023, from 12:30 to 12:37 p.m., Hyatt-Baney, using his iPhone, produced three video clips depicting the sexual exploitation of a toddler. Wiegand tentative;y scheduled sentencing for 10 a.m. Aug. 28. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Pending sentencing, the Court continued Hyatt-Baney's detention. Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of thegovernment. The Pennsylvania State Police and Homeland Security Investigations conducted theinvestigation that led to the prosecution of Hyatt-Baney. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Former Wampum man pleads guilty in federal court to child porn charge
