Meeting of the Parliament 18 September 2019
I am happy to. It was introduced by the Conservative Government, which was seeking to wind it up in 1997 when a Labour Government came in and did not bother.
The Parole Board for Scotland does not even get a say in whether someone is released and, to add insult to injury, there is usually zero supervision of the released person. Offenders walk free without even an obligation to check in with a social worker. That retraumatises victims and it puts our communities at risk. No wonder a majority of Scots think that the justice system is too lenient.
We should not forget that prisoners who are sentenced to four years or more are still automatically let out six months earlier than their full sentence.
I think that we should be up front with people and say that, if a criminal is sentenced to three years in prison, they will serve three years in prison. Further, by abolishing automatic early release, we can prioritise rehabilitation in the prison environment. The Justice Committee heard just this week about how effective throughcare, work and education can be. Today’s debate gives the SNP a chance to vote for a motion that simply reiterates what the party has promised to do several times in the past.
As an extension to that principle, we also think that it is crucial that the courts are completely up front about what a sentence actually means when it is handed down. It is surely wrong to say that a criminal has been given a six-year jail sentence if the truth is that they may be released after only three years. When a criminal is spotted on the high street substantially earlier than expected, that just angers the public and retraumatises victims. Surely it would be better for everyone if courts were to label a sentence as accurately as possible, for example by calling it a three-year sentence with the possibility of further time depending on conduct and rehabilitation.
What of life imprisonment? What a misnomer. When the 34-year-old killer of nine-year-old Scott Simpson was sentenced to life imprisonment—the mandatory sentence—what the judge really meant was a punishment part of a minimum period in prison, followed by the possibility of coming out. His punishment part was originally 25 years, but that was reduced to 20 years. Yes, his first application for parole was refused but we—or, more concerningly, the family—can expect further applications next year. Similarly, when a judge told Paige Doherty’s killer that he was getting life imprisonment, he meant that there would be a punishment part of 27 years—reduced to 23 years. Then there is the vile killer of Alesha MacPhail, whose punishment part has been reduced to 24 years. He will be younger than I am now when he is eligible to be released.
The reality is that a life sentence is really a lengthy jail term.