Consultation launched on bail and murder

A government review has ruled out the banning of bail for all murder suspects because such a move could breach human rights laws.

The review was ordered after policeman, Garry Weddell, killed his mother-in-law and then himself while on bail for killing his wife.

The Ministry of Justice consultation paper—Bail and Murder—raise concerns that a total ban on bail for all murder cases might contravene the European Convention on Human Rights, which requires courts to have some discretion to grant bail.

Instead it proposes requiring courts to give greater weight to the potential risks of granting bail to a murder suspect, including the likelihood of them inflicting physical or mental harm.

Justice minister, Jack Straw says: “Bail decisions in murder cases will never be easy; the vital thing is to ensure that the courts strike the right balance between respecting individuals’ right to liberty and protecting the public.”

Views are requested on whether hearings following alleged breaches of bail by defendants charged with murder should be heard in the crown court rather than in a magistrates’ court as at present.

It also considers the role of the Crown Prosecution Service in making representations against the grant of bail once a defendant has been convicted and the relevance of the likely sentence when a court is considering bail. Also discussed are the monitoring of bail conditions, the imposition of conditions that must be met by other agencies before a defendant is released, and the provision of feedback to courts.