Criminal Procedure & Sentencing in Serious Sexual Offences & Murder Cases

Introduction

Murder and serious sexual offences represent the gravest of crimes in English and Welsh law. The sentencing of such offences is far from straight forward as it differs substantially from sentencing in the majority of criminal cases. Whilst a life-sentence may be the mandatory sentence for murder, what this actually means in practice will vary from case to case.

Such grievous cases often arouse high emotions creating a challenging atmosphere for criminal practitioners to operate in. This webinar is designed to assist practitioners to understand the peculiar aspects of sentencing that attach to serious sexual offences and murder. From credit for pleading guilty to minimum starting points when a knife is taken to the scene - this webinar will examine all angles of the sentencing exercise, enabling practitioners to be of real assistance to both their client and the sentencing tribunal.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• Whole life orders in both murder and sexual offences - when does life mean life?
• Sentencing in cases of murder by stabbing - Court of Appeal guidance on what “taking the knife to the scene” actually means
• Sentencing for adults aged 18 and over and how it works in practice
• The sentence on offenders aged 10-17 - how Detention at His Majesty’s pleasure works in practice
• Reduction in sentence and the issue of credit - will a guilty plea result in the offender avoiding a whole life order?

This webinar was recorded on 13th November 2023

You can gain access to this webinar and 1,700+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.