We have previously mentioned Ken Clarke’s planned sentencing reform - an attempt to save money by adopting more liberal penal policy, effecitvely. One particularly unpopular aspect of this has been the plan to offer sentencing discounts of up to 50%for an early guilty plea. According to papers such as the Independent, this proposal looks likely to be dropped as it doesn’t play well with voters or the Conservative party.

As the Indy notes, this will inevitably place further pressure on othe parts of the justice system. Still deeper cuts to legal aid or the Courts Service? Watch this space…

A great way to illustrate the effect of political pressure on sentencing! The idea of letting people out of jail for any reason is never popular - but direct your students to the Prison Reform Trust website to give them a look at the other side of the argument… or direct them here to a live debate featuring PRT chief Juliet Lyon at 6.30pm on the 16th June!