Report on Mandatory Sentences - Law Reform Commission

2.45 In Attorney General for Northern Ireland v Gallagher, 114 the defendant was convicted of the
murder of his wife. A plea of insanity failed where there was evidence that he suffered from a
psychopathic condition; that he was liable to explosive outbursts which could be induced by drink; and
that he had been drunk at the time of committing the offence. The Northern Ireland Court of Criminal
Appeal referred a point of general public importance to the House of Lords which ruled that a psychopath
who goes out to kill knowing that it is wrong, and does kill, cannot escape the consequences by making
himself drunk before carrying out the killing.
2.46 In DPP v Smith, 115 the House of Lords decided that murder could be committed even though the
defendant had not possessed the actual intent to kill. It was enough that grievous bodily harm was the
natural and probable result of the defendant’s actions and that the ordinary, responsible man would have
known that. By contrast to the limiting effect of the Homicide Act 1957 in England, the effect of the Smith
decision was to expand the concept of murder. 116
2.47 Following a campaign by the Northern Ireland Association for the Reform of the Law on Capital
Punishment, a private member’s bill was introduced into the Stormont Parliament. 117 The Homicide and
Criminal Responsibility Bill proposed a number of reforms, including the abolition of capital punishment.
The Bill did not receive a second reading. 118
2.48 In 1963, a Bill was introduced to abolish the death penalty in its entirety. 119 The 1963 Bill was
later enacted as the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1966. In its final form, however, the 1966 Act
followed the Homicide Act 1957 in drawing a distinction between capital and non-capital murder. 120 This
was subsequently repealed by the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973. 121
2.49 Section 1(1) of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973 abolished the death
penalty for murder and replaced it with a mandatory life sentence. Article 5 of the Life Sentences
(Northern Ireland) Order 2001 provides that where a court imposes a life sentence, it must specify the
minimum period that must be served by the offender “to satisfy the requirements of retribution and
deterrence”, before he or she becomes eligible for parole. 122 Where the offence warranting the life
sentence is particularly serious, the court may order a “whole life tariff” if it considers that the offender
should be detained for the remainder of his or her natural life. 123
2.50 A review of Northern Ireland’s criminal justice system was conducted 124 prior to the
commencement of the United Kingdom Human Rights Act 1998, and a review of Northern Ireland’s
sentencing framework was conducted 125 following the enactment of the United Kingdom Criminal Justice
114
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Attorney General for Northern Ireland v Gallagher [1962] NI 122.
DPP v Smith [1961] AC 290.
Osborough “Homicide and Criminal Responsibility Bill (NI) 1963” (1965) 16 NILQ 73 at 76.
Stannard “The View from Ireland” in Reed and Bohlander, eds, Loss of Control and Diminishment
Responsibility - Domestic, Comparative and International Perspectives (Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2011) at 161.
Osborough “Homicide and Criminal Responsibility Bill (NI) 1963” (1965) 16 NILQ 73 at 76; and Stannard “The
View from Ireland” in Reed and Bohlanderm, eds, Loss of Control and Diminishment Responsibility -
Domestic, Comparative and International Perspectives (Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2011) at 161.
Stannard “The View from Ireland” in Reed and Bohlander, eds, Loss of Control and Diminishment
Responsibility - Domestic, Comparative and International Perspectives (Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2011) at 161-
162.
Section 10 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 1966.
Schedule 5 to the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973.
Article 5(1) and (2) of the Life Sentences (Northern Ireland) Order 2001.
Article 5(3) of the Life Sentences (Northern Ireland) Order 2001.
Review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland (Criminal Justice Review Group, 2000).
Consultation on the Review of the Sentencing Framework in Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Office, 2005).
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