The judge had imposed a longer sentence for a crime of violence in order to protect the public against the violent propensities of the accused.
Held: Lawton LJ said: ‘What ought the proper penalty to be? We have thought it necessary not only to analyse the facts, but to apply to those facts the classical principles of sentencing. Those classical principles are summed up in four words: retribution, deterrence, prevention and rehabilitation. Any judge who comes to sentence ought always to have those four classical principles in mind and to apply them to the facts of the case to see which of them has the greatest importance in the case with which he is dealing . . We come now to the element of prevention. Unfortunately it is one of the facts of life that there are some offenders for whom neither deterrence nor rehabilitation works. They will go on committing crimes as long as they are able to do so. In those cases the only protection which the public has is that such persons should be locked up for a long period.’
Judges:
Lawton LJ
Citations:
(1974) 60 Cr App R 74
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Giles, Regina (on the Application of) v Parole Board and Another HL 31-Jul-2003
The defendant had been sentenced for offences of violence, but an additional period was imposed to protect the public. He had been refused leave for reconsideration of that part of his sentence after he completed the normal segment of his sentence. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.185429