On Wednesday (24th June), Richard Tice MP will introduce a Ten-Minute Rule Bill in the House of Commons that could help bring greater accountability to Britain’s criminal justice system. The Criminal Cases Review (Public Petition) Bill would allow members of the public to petition the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to re-examine sentences they believe to be either too harsh or too lenient. In effect, this would mean a sentence could be appealed without the need to hire expensive lawyers.
The need for such a mechanism is clear. FSU member Lucy Connolly received a 31-month prison sentence for a single tweet, posted just hours after three young girls were murdered in Southport by Axel Rudakubana. No one disputes that Lucy’s post was offensive. But more than two-and-a-half years behind bars is plainly disproportionate, and it should trouble anyone who believes the law must be applied evenly, without fear or favour.
Especially when you consider that Philip Prescott, who joined a racially aggravated mob attack on a mosque and threw missiles at police in the wake of the Southport murders, received a shorter sentence. The same judge who jailed Lucy gave just 20 months to Haris Ghaffar, who pleaded guilty to violent disorder during last summer’s riots. And further afield, Mohammed Islam Choudhrey, who admitted paying for sex with a child prostitute in Telford as part of a grooming gang, was given a more lenient sentence than Lucy.
At present, members of the public have no formal route to challenge such discrepancies unless they fall within a narrow set of legal criteria. Mr Tice’s Bill, which he has dubbed “Lucy’s Bill” in honour of our member whose ordeal brought this issue to national attention, would change that, empowering ordinary citizens to refer cases to the CCRC and, where appropriate, onward to the Court of Appeal or even the Supreme Court.
Last month, the FSU supported Lucy’s unsuccessful appeal against her sentence and members of our team were present in court throughout. We have seen first-hand the impact this is having on her. She should be at home with her family, not locked up while her husband, Ray, battles bone marrow failure and her 12-year-old daughter struggles to cope without her mother.
The FSU believes this Bill could play a vital role in restoring public confidence in a justice system that must be seen to operate fairly and without political or ideological bias.
Details here.
