Taking Life Imprisonment Seriously:In National and International Law

Table of Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 10
List of Tables......Page 12
1. What is a life sentence?......Page 14
2. A brief historical introduction......Page 17
a) Prohibitions on cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments......Page 20
b) Human dignity......Page 23
c) Rehabilitation......Page 25
d) Liberty, legality and due process......Page 27
4. Punishment in context......Page 29
5. The structure of this book......Page 30
1. The current position......Page 33
a) The colonies and the new republic......Page 42
b) A new penal vision......Page 46
c) Implementing the new vision......Page 50
d) Consolidation and restriction......Page 55
3. The 1970s and the modern era......Page 62
a) Life sentences for drug offenders......Page 64
b) Life without parole......Page 67
c) 'Three strikes and you are out'......Page 71
4. Life imprisonment and the Constitution......Page 75
5. Juveniles......Page 84
6. Indirect life sentences for the dangerous sane?......Page 86
7. Conclusion......Page 89
1. The current position......Page 91
a) Early alternatives to the death penalty......Page 97
b) Indeterminate preventive sentences......Page 98
c) Life imprisonment and the abolition of the death penalty......Page 100
3. The new system in operation......Page 105
4. Contemporary life imprisonment: so what has changed?......Page 109
a) Imposing life prior to the Human Rights Act 1998......Page 110
b) Implementing life......Page 125
5. Human rights for lifers as the way forward?......Page 141
6. Conclusion......Page 144
1. The current position......Page 148
2. Historical background......Page 152
3. The purpose of imprisonment and the life sentence......Page 156
4. The constitutional challenge......Page 158
5. The impact of the 1977 decision of the Federal Constitutional Court......Page 163
6. Further constitutional decisions......Page 165
7. Abolition as the (constitutional) alternative?......Page 168
8. Resurgent punitiveness?......Page 174
9. Conclusion......Page 177
2. Punishment in international law......Page 180
3. The International Law Commission......Page 184
a) Arguments against life imprisonment......Page 186
b) Arguments for life imprisonment......Page 187
4. Building on the debate of the International Law Commission......Page 189
5. Life imprisonment and international Realpolitik......Page 190
a) Life imprisonment as automatic substitute for the death penalty?......Page 193
b) Releasing lifers......Page 196
c) The tribunals in practice......Page 198
6. The International Criminal Court: a principled compromise?......Page 201
a) Restricted use of life imprisonment......Page 203
b) International penalties and national laws......Page 204
c) Enforcement of sentences......Page 205
7. Conclusion......Page 209
1. Introduction......Page 210
2. Severity and proportionality......Page 211
3. Life sentences for habitual offenders?......Page 213
4. Dangerousness and risk as limits on proportionality......Page 214
5. Dangerousness tamed?......Page 217
6. Life imprisonment for the most severe crimes?......Page 220
7. Human dignity......Page 225
8. Practice......Page 227
9. Conclusion......Page 230
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 231
TABLE OF CASES......Page 246
D......Page 250
L......Page 251
R......Page 252
Z......Page 253