MINISTER FOR Justice Dermot Ahern has said he is against the introduction of very long mandatory sentences for killers because some exceptional cases required leniency and most killers were already serving 17 years or more.
Speaking at the launch of the Parole Board’s annual report in Dublin yesterday, Mr Ahern said it was clear that serious criminals were being caught and convicted. The number of people serving life in jail had increased from 100 10 years ago to over 260 at present.
He said that while anybody who committed premeditated murder had to expect to serve a lengthy time in prison, there were other cases where extenuating circumstances needed to be considered.
“I often hear this issue about mandatory sentences; ‘we should have 25 years mandatory sentencing’. But when you have murder and manslaughter and the killing of a person, there are different degrees and different circumstances.
“There are circumstances where people, perhaps in a moment that would never recur in their lives again, commit a killing. If we were to bring in a mandatory sentence of 25 years, perhaps it would not take into account the particular circumstances.”
It was up to members of the judiciary to pass final judgment on the facts of a case. He believed the courts were acting properly on sentencing. The jails were full as a result of sentencing and the Garda’s work.
“Ten years ago the number [of people serving life] was 100, now it’s 260,” Mr Ahern said.
He added the current average life sentence of 17 years was an increase from 7½ years in the 1980s and from 12 to 13 years in the earlier part of this decade.
The Parole Board considers the release of inmates who have served a minimum of eight years of lengthy sentences. It makes recommendations on releases to the Minister for Justice, who then makes a final decision.
A number of factors are considered including the inmate’s likelihood of reoffending, their propensity for violence and the degree of rehabilitation while in prison.
Chairman of the Parole Board Gordon Holmes said that while the statistics available indicated the average life sentence was 17 years, the true figure was longer.
This was because the average figure did not include people still in prison serving very lengthy terms as life inmates.
Mr Holmes said the use of firearms in the commission of crime was now “commonplace”.
“Yet the number of persons convicted of the simple unlawfully carrying a gun is very few.”
When asked why there were so few convictions he said: “We know the result, we don’t know the cause. Does the cause rest with the gardaí? I wouldn’t think so because they seem to be doing their work very well.”
While there were encouraging elements in recent crime statistics the rate of serious crime “remains wholly unacceptable”, he said.
“Hardly a week goes by without some horrific murder and investigations into these murders reveal the most common denominator throughout then all – the sale of drugs.”
The Parole Board dealt with 212 cases last year, including prisoners considered for immediate release and more long-term cases. It made 67 recommendations to Mr Ahern. Some 24 cases last year involved murderers.