In UK law, “back-to-back life sentences” refer to consecutive life sentences imposed on an individual for multiple serious offences. When a person is convicted of multiple crimes, each carrying a life sentence, the court may order that the sentences run consecutively, meaning one after the other. This effectively extends the period of incarceration beyond the term of a single life sentence. Back-to-back life sentences are typically reserved for the most severe cases involving repeated or particularly heinous crimes. They ensure that individuals convicted of multiple serious offences serve a proportionate period of imprisonment for each crime committed.
n. slang for consecutive life terms imposed by a judge when there were two crimes committed by the defendant, both of which can result in punishment of a life term, such as two murders, or a murder and a rape involving aggravated assault. The purpose of making the sentences subsequent (“back-to-back”) and not “concurrent” (served at the same time) is to lessen the chance of parole, since if parole were permissible after 25 years, the defendant would then begin the second “life” sentence and would wait another 25 years for a parole hearing.
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This glossary post was last updated: 29th March 2024.
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