Gender Discrimination in sentencing

Ian Tyes made this Freedom of Information request to Sentencing Guidelines Council

Sentencing Guidelines Council did not have the information requested.

From: Ian Tyes

3 March 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

There has been a recent publicity campaign by the government on the
issue of discrimination in sentencing for manslaughter cases, but
none of the participants in the debate have quoted any real
statistics.

Please could you confirm how many cases in the last five years have
there been when one partner/spouse has killed the other and could
you break these down as follows:
by gender of perpetrator and victim,
married/unmarried,
children present,
Whether prosecuted for murder or manslaughter
Whether pleaded guilty or not guilty
Whether claimed provocation

And the range of sentences for each group.

Yours faithfully,

Ian Tyes

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From: Ezete Ebere

5 March 2009

Dear Mr Tyes,

Thank you for your email of 3 March 2009, in which you ask how many cases
there have been in the last five years where one partner or spouse has
killed the other.

Your request has been passed to me because I have responsibility for
answering requests made to the Sentencing Guidelines Secretariat under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Unfortunately the information you have requested is not held by the
Sentencing Guidelines Secretariat.

You may however wish to direct your request to the Research Development
and Statistics Directorate at the Home Office. They can be contacted at:
[1][email address].

I am sorry that on this occasion I am not able to be of more assistance.

If you are not satisfied that your request for information has been
processed in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act, you may ask for an independent internal review. This can
be requested by submitting your complaint to:

Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice

Chairman, Sentencing Guidelines Council

4th Floor

8-10 Great George Street

London SW1P 3AE

The review will be carried out by the Chairman of the Sentencing
Guidelines Council, who has not been involved in providing you with this
response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you
have - under Section 50 of the Act - the right to refer the matter to the
Information Commissioner: [2]http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely

Bee Ezete

Sentencing Guidelines Secretariat

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From: Ian Tyes

5 March 2009

Dear Ezete Ebere,

I am surprised by your response as you submitted similar
information to a previous government consultation in or around
2003-4. Please see attached link. I was hoping for an update on
this information.
http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:Rjvo...

Yours sincerely,

Ian Tyes

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From: Ezete Ebere

6 March 2009

Dear Mr Tyes,

Thank you for your email.

The Consultation Paper to which you refer quotes statistics which were
published by the Home Office in January 2004 in its report; Crime in
England and Wales 2002/2003: Supplementary Volume 1: Homicide and Gun
Crime. The consultation paper also mentions a study of 42 cases which was
undertaken by the Sentencing Advisory Panel only for the purposes of that
paper. We do not however collate the statistics requested in your email.
I am sorry that I cannot help you further with your request.

Yours sincerely

Bee Ezete (Ms)

Sentencing Guidelines Secretariat

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From: Ian Tyes

6 March 2009

Dear Ezete Ebere,

many thanks for your response.

Given the publicity by Harriet Harman and others and the current
debate in parliament, please could you provide any statistics that
you have collated to provide to the government during the current
consultation. Surely you have been consulted?

Yours sincerely,

Ian Tyes

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From: Ezete Ebere

10 March 2009

Dear Mr Tyes,

Thank you for your reply.

The Sentencing Guidelines Secretariat has not collated any statistics on
this area and has not yet been consulted.

Yours sincerely

Bee Ezete
Sentencing Guidelines Secretariat

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