Judges Get Power to Confine Killers Who Skip Sentencing
Under rules laid before Parliament today, Crown Court judges in England and Wales will be able to order offenders who refuse to attend their sentencing to be confined to a cell for 21 days, stripped of privileges for 84 and barred from social visits for 27. Visits from their children are exempt.
The reasoning is that existing sanctions do not bite. Refusing to attend is already contempt of court, carrying a fine or up to two years’ additional imprisonment, but for a murderer serving decades the department concedes that extra time “can offer little deterrent”. Social visits can also be restricted to one every four weeks for 84 days, and the powers extend to offenders removed from court for disruption, not only those who refuse to appear. For 18- to 20-year-olds the maximum periods are shorter. Catherine McKinnell, the prisons minister, said criminals “should not be able to pick and choose when they face justice”. Claire Waxman, the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, said refusal “compounds trauma and robs families of one of the very few moments of accountability”, adding that it is “now essential that these powers are used consistently”. The aunt of Zara Aleena, murdered in 2022, said removing privileges “would rebalance the power in the justice system from offender to victim”. The Prison Reform Trust asked for evidence that sanctions actually increase attendance. The rules take effect next year.