How Labour’s new sentences will work

Let’s say there are two prisoners, both convicted of rape for eight years. One of them is a model prisoner who undertakes counselling for his offending, never misbehaves in prison, and show genuine repentance. The other is the opposite. He laughs about the woman he raped, has no remorse, is always in trouble in prison, and shows no sign of rehabilitation at all.

Under the current law Prisoner A could be out in around three years. Prisoner B though might stay in for the full eight years.

Now if Labour’s changes were in place then they would both have been sentenced to six years only. And Prisoner A would serve four years (one extra year in jail) while Prisoner B would get out at six years – two years earlier.

So the dangerous certain to reoffend rapist will be out two years earlier, because Labour is proposing to cut all sentences by 25%.

The rest of Labour’s package is not too bad, but the cutting of sentences is highly illogical, dangerous and being done purely as a cost cutting measure.