The Criminal Cases Review Commission has asked the appeal courts to consider the cases of five men who are still serving indefinite prison sentences for offences committed as long as 20 years ago.
All the offenders were under 21 when convicted in separate cases. They were told they would serve minimum terms of between nine months and three-and-a-half years.
Imprisonment for public protection — IPP — was abolished in 2012 but the reform was not retrospective. It was known as “detention for public protection” — DPP — if the offender was under 18.
In 2024, the Court of Appeal quashed the IPP sentences of Leighton Williams and Darren Hilling after finding that the sentencing judges had failed to attach the necessary importance to their young ages and lack of maturity. There was another such case involving Steven Sillitto last year.
Dame Vera Baird, chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, said the review body had set up a special project group following these three successful appeals because they might affect other offenders still serving indefinite sentences.
She continued:
For many years there has not been such a possibility for such people. So we have set up a focussed team of case review managers and a specialist standing committee of commissioners to ensure specialist experience and expertise in both investigation and decision-making for these cases.
We are currently receiving an average of 16 IPP/DPP cases a month and about 110 cases are on our stocks for review. We have also begun a search of earlier IPP/DPP cases which came to us but were not referred to the courts to see if the new cases might have an impact also on them.
I am pleased we have already been able to refer the sentences of these five people.
The judgments that have been made recently by the Court of Appeal provide an important opportunity to try to help other young people who were in similar circumstances at the time of their conviction and who received sentences of this kind.
Anyone else in a similar situation and who — importantly — has exhausted their appeal rights is free to get in touch with us.
The five cases referred are those of:
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Benjamin Hibbert, who was convicted of three counts of sexual assault at Preston Crown Court in December 2009. He was sentenced to DPP with a minimum tariff of two years. He was aged 15 or 16 at the time of the offences.
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Stuart O’Neill, who was convicted of rape at Manchester Crown Court in October 2009. He was sentenced to IPP with a minimum term of three years and six months. He applied for leave to appeal against his sentence, but his application was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in March 2010. He was aged 20 when he was sentenced.
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Jay Davis, who was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence in Portsmouth Crown Court in October 2006. He was sentenced to IPP with a minimum term of nine months. He was 19 at the time of the offence.
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Luke Ings, who was convicted of two counts of robbery and two counts of battery at East Berkshire Youth Court in March 2006. He was sentenced at the crown court to DPP with a minimum term of one year and nine months, less 81 days served on remand. He was 17 at the time of the offence.
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James Ward, who was convicted of arson and criminal damage in June 2006 at Leicester Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court. He was sentenced to one year, less 63 days served on remand. He was 20 at the time of the offence.
Baird told the BBC’s Newsnight programme yesterday: “They’ve let three lads out on similar appeals at similar ages and we think that these five men might be able to fit into those chinks — and they might broaden them.”
The three men convicted in the crown court will have their sentences considered by the Court of Appeal. The two convicted by magistrates will have their cases referred to the crown court.