The Realities of the Situation

Abstract

This chapter examines the legal interpretation of the life sentence and explores whether the judiciary can act as a counterpoint to the punitive tendencies of parole decision-makers. While the life sentence and the parole process have tended to operate beneath the radar of public scrutiny, the manner by which life sentence prisoners are released has increasingly become the focus of critical attention. But, for now, the issue of compliance appears to be relatively settled as both the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights have declared the mandatory life sentence to be compatible with the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. The life sentence has been characterised as ‘wholly punitive’ and the courts have rejected the contentions that the system of release in place affects the punitive nature of the sentence in any manner or results in a form of executive resentencing. Given the expressions of parole decision-makers in the preceding chapters there appears to be a disjoint between the legal interpretation of the life sentence and the practice of parole decision-making as articulated by those responsible for the release or further detention of a life sentence prisoner.