In a last-minute reprieve, the two-tiered prison sentence scheme set to be introduced tomorrow in Britain has been delayed. What was this all about? I’ll quote from the UK tabloid The Sun, as they mince fewer words on the matter,
It could have seen ethnic minority, religious and transgender criminals handed softer punishments by prioritising them for pre-sentence reports.
But the Sentencing Council leadership has backed down at the eleventh-hour and agreed to suspend implementing the guidance due to kick in tomorrow.
They caved as the PM prepared to table emergency laws giving ministers powers to overrule them.
Longtime readers of UK tabloids could be forgiven for the belief that such a policy was already, de facto, U.K. law.
Regardless, it won’t soon become de jure policy, either.
The BBC still claims,
Official figures show that offenders from ethnic minorities consistently get longer sentences than white offenders for indictable offences.
The Sentencing Council (officially, The Sentencing Council of England and Wales) issued a statement today that begins with this sentence,
The Sentencing Council remains of the view that its guideline, Imposition of community and custodial sentences, as drafted is necessary and appropriate.
Nonetheless, this “independent” government agency, founded in 2010 for this exact purpose, is caving in to pressure from Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and will wait to see what Parliament does to the Council’s work product.
With England being the home of Magna Carta, it would have been/will be a genuine shame to see the principle of equality before the law tossed aside.
For now, we’ll chalk this incident up to the “wrong” people doing the “right” thing.
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