New guidelines on sentencing offenders from ethnic minorities and other backgrounds have been delayed, after a row over claims they would create a “two-tier” justice system.The delay comes after ministers said they would pass a new law to override sections of the guidelines, which were due to come into force in England and Wales on Tuesday.Critics said the guidance could result in criminals getting different sentences depending on their ethnicity.The Sentencing Council defended the guidelines as “necessary and appropriate” but said they would not be introduced until the new law had been passed.Government sources had said it would be all but impossible to pass such legislation before Parliament breaks for Easter.In a statement, the Sentencing Council said its chairman, Lord Justice William Davis, met Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday morning.In the meeting, Lord Davis indicated the guidelines would not be brought in while there was a “draft bill due for imminent introduction that would make it unlawful”.”On that basis, the council, an independent statutory body, has chosen to delay the in force date of the guideline pending such legislation taking effect,” the statement said.Mahmood said she was “grateful” to the Sentencing Council for delaying the implementation of its new guidelines.The minister said: “These guidelines create a justice system where outcomes could be influenced by race, culture or religion.”This differential treatment is unacceptable – equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice syst …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnNew guidelines on sentencing offenders from ethnic minorities and other backgrounds have been delayed, after a row over claims they would create a “two-tier” justice system.The delay comes after ministers said they would pass a new law to override sections of the guidelines, which were due to come into force in England and Wales on Tuesday.Critics said the guidance could result in criminals getting different sentences depending on their ethnicity.The Sentencing Council defended the guidelines as “necessary and appropriate” but said they would not be introduced until the new law had been passed.Government sources had said it would be all but impossible to pass such legislation before Parliament breaks for Easter.In a statement, the Sentencing Council said its chairman, Lord Justice William Davis, met Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday morning.In the meeting, Lord Davis indicated the guidelines would not be brought in while there was a “draft bill due for imminent introduction that would make it unlawful”.”On that basis, the council, an independent statutory body, has chosen to delay the in force date of the guideline pending such legislation taking effect,” the statement said.Mahmood said she was “grateful” to the Sentencing Council for delaying the implementation of its new guidelines.The minister said: “These guidelines create a justice system where outcomes could be influenced by race, culture or religion.”This differential treatment is unacceptable – equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice syst …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
