Former Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd has said that excluding "unlawful act" manslaughter from the prison early release scheme could work in practice.
His comments come as Prime Minister Andy Burnham seeks to stop Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, two of PC Andrew Harper's killers, from being freed early under the UK Government's early release scheme designed to tackle prison overcrowding.
Distinguishing Three Types of Manslaughter
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday, the independent crossbench peer explained that people are found guilty of manslaughter in three different circumstances: murder charges with a specific defence, gross negligence resulting in death, and involuntary manslaughter involving an unlawful act such as a punch.
"That is the unlawful act manslaughter which they're seeking to exempt. So it is quite possible to distinguish the three types of manslaughter," he said.
Background of the Killers' Case
Bowers and Cole were passengers in the car that dragged PC Harper down a country road after he became caught in a strap attached to the vehicle as they fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in 2019.
The prospect of their release next year, halfway through their 13-year sentences, has prompted widespread condemnation of the early release scheme.
Administrative Feasibility
Lord Thomas acknowledged that determining which type of manslaughter an inmate committed from prison records "may not be that straightforward," but added that it "should be relatively easy to tell that from the sentencing remarks, which are always transmitted with the prisoner's record."
He said the plan would offer a way to "do an exclusion that would at least catch some people who've been convicted of manslaughter simply by reason of the nature of their crime."
Blocking solely Bowers and Cole from early release while freeing other prisoners convicted of the same offence would be "unlawful," he said.
Government Response
Mr Burnham has ordered Justice Secretary Alex Norris to draw up plans to free up prison space for serious offenders. The Prime Minister last week said he was "increasingly confident" PC Harper's killers would not be released early.
Minister Lilian Greenwood told Times Radio on Tuesday: "I don't want to comment on the speculation around the specifics that the Justice Secretary is going to come up with. The Prime Minister has asked the Justice Secretary to come up with plans to tackle the crisis that we inherited in prison capacity. We completely understand that we don't want dangerous people being released early."
She added: "We've already taken action to ensure that those who were convicted of murder or rape or child sex offences aren't able to be released."
Some 5,000 people are expected to be released early under sentencing changes, down from 6,000 after ministers exempted rapists and "serious" child sex offenders. Mr Burnham ordered a review of the early release scheme under the Sentencing Act shortly after taking office, but changes did not cover PC Harper's killers.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Public safety will always be our priority. We are fast-tracking a plan to keep more of the most serious offenders behind bars, on top of murderers, anyone on life sentences and those in prison for rape, serious child sexual abuse and grooming offences who are already blocked from any changes."
The spokesperson added: "We share the public's anger that these options are even being considered, after we inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse. We are fixing this by building 14,000 new prison places, expanding electronic tagging on an unprecedented scale, and investing in probation services at record levels. We are also exploring how we can go further, including faster deportation of foreign criminals, better use of the women's estate and reviewing the unjust IPP (indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection) sentences."
