Sentences for Murder - Life, Death & Whole Life?

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When someone is convicted of MURDER in the United Kingdom, there are various sentences which can be handed down; whether "life sentence", "whole life sentence" and (previously up until 1965) "death sentence". But what do these terms actually mean and how long in prison does each term represent? Murder Mile blog investigates. 

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DEATH SENTENCE: The last official executions carried out in the United Kingdom were the dual hangings on the 13th August 1964 of Peter Anthony Allen at Walton Prison (Liverpool) and Gwynne Owen Evans at Strangeways Prison for the murder of John Alan West on 7th April 1964. After this, the Death Sentence was suspended for five years in 1965 and abolished on 16th December 1969. Although under very specific circumstances, a death penalty was still applicable until 1998. These include:

• Causing a fire in a naval dockyard, ship or warehouse (abolished 1971)
• Espionage (abolished 1981)
• Piracy with violence, mutiny and treason (both abolished in 1998)

That said, a fully working gallows remained operational up until 1994 at Wandsworth prison and was tested every six months. 

Under Section 5 of the Homicide Act 1957 'Capital Murder', there were five specifically defined acts of murder which warranted the death penalty: 

• Murder in the course or furtherance of theft
• Murder by shooting or by causing an explosion
• Murder in the course or for the purpose of resisting, avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest, or of effecting or assisting an escape or rescue from legal custody
• Murder of a police officer acting in the execution of his duty, or of a person assisting a police officer so acting
• Murder of a prison officer acting in the execution of his duty, or of a person assisting a prison officer so acting, by a person who was a prisoner at the time when he did or was a party to the murder

Any other criminal acts which resulted in murder was given a life sentence. There are currently only ten countries in the world which still have the death penalty - China, United States, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Iraq - that said, in June 2013 a new bill for the re-introduction of Capital Punishment (for murderers of Police officer and children) was introduced... but not taken forward. 

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LIFE SENTENCE: The act of murder in England & Wales carries a mandatory life sentence to anyone aged 21+, with those aged 18 to 20 years sentenced to life in custody and those under 18 sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure*. Under Section 109 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 2000, life sentences are automatically applied for the following offences: 

• Murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, or incitement to murder
• Manslaughter and GBH
• Rape and attempt rape, and intercourse with a girl under 13
• Possession of a firearm with intent to injure, use of a firearm to resist arrest or carrying a firearm with criminal intent
• Robbery whilst in possession of a firearm or imitation firearm

With the following terms applied to each sentence dependant on the severity of the crime: 
30 Years (before parole is considered)

• Murder involving a firearm or explosive.
• Murder done for personal gain.
• Murder to obstruct the course of justice.
• Murder involving sexual or sadistic conduct.
• Multiple murder.
• Racially, sexually, or religiously aggravated murder.
• Murder committed by those aged under 21 which should deserve a whole life order.

25 Years (before parole is considered) - murder involving a knife
12-15 Years (before parole is considered) - murder committed by a minor (ages 11-17)
15 Years (before parole is considered) - any other murder. not applicable above

In the horrifying abduction, torture and murder of 2 year old James Bulger on 12th February 1993, Robert Thompson & Jon Venables (both aged just 12 years old at the time of the murder) were sentenced to custody until they reached 18, and in June 2001 were released under new identities on a lifelong licence. They are the youngest convicted murderers in modern English history. 

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​WHOLE LIFE ORDER: Also known as a whole life sentence, it was established in 1983, and means that the prisoner will spend the rest of their life in prison without the possibility of parole. As laid down in Section 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the following warrants a whole life order:

• Multiple murder involving premeditation, abduction or sexual/sadistic conduct.
• Murder of a child involving abduction or sexual/sadistic conduct.
• Assassination to further a religious, political, racial or ideological cause.
• Murder by a person previously convicted of murder.
• Murder of a police or prison officer in the execution of their duty

Currently (as of 18th January 2017), there are 70 prisoners in England & Wales, either in prisons or secure units, who are still serving whole life orders. What follows is a list of their names, the date of their arrest and how long they have served. 

1. Ian Brady (sentenced 1966, served 50 years so far, child-murderer)
2. Robert Maudsley (murderer, 1978, 38 years) 
3. John Childs (contract killer, 1979, 37 years) 
4. Dennis Nilsen (1983, 34 years, serial killer)
5. Arthur Hutchinson (1984, 33 years, wedding murderer & rapist)
6. Jeremy Bamber (1986, 30 years, murderer)
7. Anthony Entwistle (1987, 29 years, child-murderer) 
8. Victor Miller (1988, 28 years, child murderer)
9. John Duffy (1988, 28 years, “The Railway Killer”) 
10. Anthony Arkwright (1989, 27 years, the youngest whole life prisoner)
11. Mark Robinson (1989, 27 years, double murderer)
12. Victor Castigador (1990, 26 years, robber/"human torch" killer)
13. Malcolm Green (1991, 25 years, "bodies in bag" killer)
14. Rosemary West (1995, 21 years, joint murder of 10 women)
15. Peter Moore (1996, 20 years, “The Man in Black”)
16. Paul Glen (2004, 12 years, murdered again after his release on licence) 
17. Phillip Heggarty (2004, 12 years, murderer)
18. Thomas McDowell (2004, 12 years, dismembered a gay trainee rabbi with a ripsaw)
19. Mark Martin (2005, 11 years, ambition to become “Nottingham’s First Serial Killer”)
20. Mark Hobson (2005, 11 years, murderer)
21. William Horncy & Kenneth Regan (2005, 11 years, killed rival drug-dealer’s family)*
22. Glyn Dix (2005, 11 years, killed and dismembered his wife)
23. Viktor Dembovskis (2006, 10 years, rapist & murderer)
24. John McGrady (2006, 10 years, child-rapist, murderer and dismemberer)
25. Stephen McColl (2006, 10 years, gangster/informer)
26. Rahan Arshad (2007, 9 years, killed his family) –
27. Andrew Randall (2007, 9 years, abused & killed his 6-week old daughter)
28. David Tiley (2007, 9 years, rapist/murderer of girlfriend & her carer)
29. Michael Smith (2007, 9 years, attacked his victim with a bottle, after release)
30. Stephen Wright (2008, 8 years, “The Suffolk Strangler”)
31. Levi Bellfield (2008, 8 years, “Milly Dowler”, the only prisoner in the UK currently serving two whole life sentences for two different crimes)
32. Douglas Vintner (2008, 8 years, wife-killer)
33. Marc Chivers (2009, 7 years, murder)
34. Peter Tobin (2009, 7 years, possibly “Bible John”)
35. Royston Jackson (2010, 6 years, murderer/sex offender)
36. Peter Sutcliffe (2010, 6 years, “Yorkshire Ripper”)
37. Ernest Wright (2010, 6 years, murder)
38. Anthony Hardy (2010, 6 years, “The Camden Ripper”)
39. John Maden (2010, 6 years, child murderer)
40. Desmond Lee (2010, 6 years, murderer)
41. Wilbert Dyce (2010, 6 years, triple murderer)
42. Stephen Griffiths (2010, 6 years, “The Crossbow Cannibal”)
43. John Sweeney (2011, 5 years, “The Canal Killer”)
44. George Norman Johnson (2011, 5 years, murderer)
45. John Cooper (2011, 5 years, “The Bullseye Killer”)
46. David Baxendale (2011, 5 years, murderer)
47. Andrew Dawson (2011, 5 years, “The Angel of Mercy Killer”)
48. David Cook (2012, 4 years, robber/murderer)
49. Stephen Farrow (2012, 4 years, murderer)
50. Mark Bridger (2013, 3 years, the “April Jones murder”)
51. Dale Cregan (2013, 3 years, cop killer)
52. Gary Smith & Lee Newell (2013, 3 years, killed a prisoner)
53. Jamie Reynolds (2013, 3 years, “Georgia Williams” murder)
54. Anwar Rosser (2014, 2 years, child murderer)
55. Ian McLoughlin (2014, 2 years, robbery/murder)
56. Michael Adebolajo (2014, 2 years, “Lee Rigby murder”)
57. Joanne Dennehy (2014, 2 years, spree killer)
58. Paul O’Hara (2014, 2 years, murderer)
59. Ryan Matthews (2015, 1 year, murderer)
60. David Mitchell (2015, 1 year, canal killer)
61. Jason Gomex (2015, 1 year, prisoner murderer)
62. Ian Birley (2015, 1 year, killer couple)
63. Russell Oliver (2016, less than 1 year, murder)
64. Anthony Ayres (2016, less than 1 year, multiple murder)
65. Christopher Halliwell (2016, less than 1 year, murder)
66. Arthur Simpson-Kent (2016, less than 1 year, “Eastenders actress” murder)
67. Thomas Mair (2016, less than 1 year, “Jo Cox murder”) 
68. Stephen Port (2016, less than 1 year, serial killer) 

Prisoners who were previously on whole life orders but are now dead include Harold Shipman, Robert Black, Colin Ireland, Donald Neilson, Myra Hindley and Daniel Gonzalez dubbed “The Mummy’s Boy Killer”. * note: #21 and #52 listed as a dual convictions

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​If you "enjoyed" this blog post, take a peek at; Famous British Serial Killers - Where Are They Now? Also Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals

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Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.