Murder carries a mandatory life sentence, under the Murder (Abolition of death penalty) Act 1965. This can but rarely does, mean that the offender will spend the rest of his natural life in prison. An offender given a mandatory life sentence who is released from prison will remain on licence for the rest of his or her life. The incident of Michael Barton who was racially motivated to murder Anthony walker aged 20, with an ice axe will face a mandatory life sentence. The minimum tariff for racially motivated murders, are 30 years imprisonment. However the tariff may vary, for example in the case of Sean Mercer aged 16, he had shot 11 year old Rhys Jones in August 2007. Mercer was ordered to serve a minimum tariff of 22 years in prison. It was announced by Judge Irwin, that when released he will be under license and will be supervised for as long as he lives.
Murder is a uniquely, heinous crime hence a mandatory life sentence is justified. However the former lord chief justice, Lord Bingham delivered his speech in 1988, rejecting the dispute that murder was a ‘uniquely evil crime’ and only a life term would validate. He argued that murder varied significantly and it was “unjustifiable” to treat them all equally. He then announced the case of paratrooper Lee Clegg, who was imprisoned for life for murdering a joy rider in Belfast. Lord Bingham concluded that he did not find it acceptable to give the same sentence as a mass murder such as Fred West. Currently, all killers are automatically given a life sentence. The judge recommended a number of years to be served, however it can be altered by the Lord Chief Justice and the Home Secretary, once the tariff is given to the offender the Home Secretary can then decide when the murderer should be released from jail.
The home secretary, Jack Straw attempted to quash any possibility of the government to consider Lord Bingham’s proposal, also it was said victims’