Killers who target police, prison and probation officers to get whole life orders
People who kill police and prison officers to get whole life jail sentences
- David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, announced plans to introduce whole life jail sentences for individuals who murder police, prison or probation officers.
- The tougher punishments will apply to attacks linked to an officer's current or former service, ensuring that those who target them, even after they leave their roles, face the harshest penalty.
- This policy change follows the murder of former prison officer Lenny Scott, who was killed in a revenge attack by Elias Morgan after seizing a phone from his cell four years prior.
- Morgan received a minimum 45-year sentence, but because Mr Scott had left the prison service, he did not face a whole life order, highlighting a 'clear loophole' in the law.
- The new measure will be implemented as an amendment to the Sentencing Bill, ensuring that perpetrators of such killings can expect to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.