Coroners and Justice Bill

I, too, support this very important amendment. I say to the Government that there cannot have been many debates in this Chamber where we have heard the views not only of a very distinguished retired Law Lord, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, but of a retired Lord Chief Justice and of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mayhew, who was both Attorney-General and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for considerable periods; so we have a wealth of experience advising us in this debate. It is also to be noted that in the noble and learned Lord’s amendment, the judge is not obliged to pass a sentence other than a life sentence. If the judge regards the defendant, despite the extenuating circumstances, as being a continuing danger, the judge may still pass a life sentence and therefore ensure that the whole panoply of the Parole Board is brought to bear on the case and the defendant may be subject to release only on licence in future. Had we been able to conduct methodical research into the views of juries and the way in which juries function, I am absolutely sure, after well over 30 years of dealing with juries, that we would have found juries agreeing with what is proposed. I support completely the last point made by the noble Lord, Lord Pannick: there is a mass of anecdotal, albeit anecdotal, evidence that juries are not convicting people of murder in cases where there are extenuating circumstances, for two simple reasons. First, they are not willing to hear the words, "You will be imprisoned for life", passed on the defendant in the case. Secondly, they know that the parole system is unpredictable and, currently, overwhelmed and therefore cannot be guaranteed to provide fairness.