The Court of Appeal has recently quashed the Imprisonment / Detention* for Public Protection sentences of six prisoners – three of them following referrals from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). Those three – Benjamin Hibbert, Stuart O’Neill and Jay Davis – were all convicted as young men more than 15 years ago and have remained in custody since, despite none having been given a tariff of more than three and a half years.
The sentences of Mr O’Neill and Mr Davis were quashed on 23rd April, with the court adjourning Mr Hibbert’s case for further reports relating to the appropriate sentence to be substituted.
In response, CCRC Chair Dame Vera Baird commented:
“I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision in all these cases. All the men were very young at the time they were sentenced and have spent many years beyond their original tariffs in custody. The Court’s judgments reflect the importance of properly considering age and maturity when imposing sentences of this nature.
“We will continue to examine other IPP and DPP cases, and I encourage anyone who believes their sentence may have been affected—and who has exhausted their appeal rights—to apply to the Commission.
“I hope today’s decision gives hope to the many families with loved ones who remain in prison way beyond their original tariff.”
The CCRC is now reviewing more than 150 IPP / DPP cases.
(IPP sentences were indeterminate sentences intended for offenders who were considered potentially dangerous to the public. *DPP sentences were similar, imposed upon people aged under the age of 18. Both types of sentence were abolished in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving many prisoners without the hope of ever being released.)
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