Coroners and Justice Bill

When I read the amendment of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, I immediately withdrew my own amendment, as this one, which I strongly support, is so much more elegant and skilfully drawn. The amendment extends well beyond mercy killing but, as I no longer regard myself as a lawyer, I will focus only on that aspect, which the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, has raised, as I have some knowledge of the issue. I approach the issue not, as I say, as a lawyer, but as someone concerned with justice, and with justice for everyone. The amendment must be considered in the context of the changes in the law proposed in Clause 42, which would result in a mandatory life sentence for a mercy killer. The noble Lord, Lord Low, has drawn attention to what the Law Commission, in its report 290 in August 2004, referred to as the benign conspiracy between psychiatrists, the defence, the prosecution and the court to avoid convictions for murder. Clause 42 appears intended to prevent that benign conspiracy which, although it was a fudge from a legal point of view, was a humane fudge that often resulted in non-custodial sentences for persons found guilty of mercy killing. Under the proposed law, there would not be that gap, and mercy killers who kill for compassionate reasons will face a mandatory life sentence. We have, then, this obvious injustice in Clause 42 that mercy killers who, out of compassion for someone who they love, reluctantly assist their loved ones to die and will receive the same mandatory life sentence as murderers who kill maliciously for gain. As the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, has pointed out, it makes a mockery of the law. The mandatory life sentence is the most severe punishment that can be imposed on a convicted accused. It must bring the law into disrepute if a compassionate act attracts the same sentence as a dreadful murder. If the amendment were accepted, it would bring some consistency to the law where the Government have surprisingly accepted the Law Commission’s recommendation that, pending the outcome of any public consultation, Section 4 of the Homicide Act 1957 should be retained. This section provides that the survivor of a suicide pact is guilty of manslaughter, not murder, if the defence proves that he was acting in pursuance of the pact. So if Clause 42 becomes law we will have the strange and seemingly irrational outcome that a mercy killer found guilty will be sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment unless they happen to be the survivor of a suicide pact, in which case they will only be guilty of manslaughter, thereby providing the judge with discretion as to their sentence. Can my noble and learned friend the Attorney-General explain the rationale behind this extraordinary position? It seems on the face of it that, as the Law Commission has earlier said, the law is in a mess. Clause 42 will increase rather than solve that mess. If they were concerned about justice, it would have been far more rational for the Government to have deferred tightening the law on diminished responsibility under Clause 42 until the public consultation on mercy killing recommended by the Law Commission had taken place, in exactly the same way as they have deferred the decision on suicide pacts. That suggests that the Government may never really have intended the draconian outcome of mandatory life sentences for all mercy killers, because I do not believe that the Government are not concerned about injustice. In their consultation paper CP19/08, the Government stated that the aim of the Bill is to ensure that the law is just, effective and up to date, producing outcomes that command public confidence. The Bill is to be applauded in its aim to prevent the encouragement of suicide through the medium of the internet, but it is not just in respect of mercy killings. It is too early to say whether it will be effective, but one outcome is certain: it will not produce outcomes that command public confidence. In the present climate of uncertainty over the lack of public confidence in Parliament, leaders of political parties have expressed concern that Parliament is out of touch with the opinions of the electorate and must listen to their views. Public opinion surveys consistently show that 80 per cent of the public support assisted dying. While this is not the place for a debate about decriminalising assisted dying, it follows from these surveys that at least 80 per cent of society would be appalled at a law that results in mandatory life sentences for mercy killers. As the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, has pointed out, the Law Commission commissioned Professor Mitchell to undertake surveys for it, which the commission recorded in its report. The professor found: ""The surveys reveal very little support for the imposition of a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment in genuine cases of ‘mercy’ killing"." Is it time that the Government take account of the views of the overwhelming majority of the population, who would undoubtedly support the amendment? It is encouraging that the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, supports the amendment, as he and I have had different views on assisted dying.