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'A Landmark Moment' - Police And Crime Commissioner Reacts To First UK Televised Sentencing

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight has called the first ever UK televised sentencing as a 'landmark moment'.

Donna Jones said the move is a huge step forward for the justice system in the country, after legal history was made at the Old Bailey.

Judge Sarah Munro QC made legal history yesterday (Thursday), as she sentenced 25-year-old Ben Oliver to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of ten years and eight months, for the manslaughter of his grandfather.

The move, which allowed cameras in the Crown Court, follows a change in the law in 2020, but implementation was delayed due to the pandemic.

Only the judge was filmed, in order to protect the privacy of witnesses, victims and jurors. The footage was broadcast on leading UK news channels and made available online.

PCC Jones said:

“This is a landmark moment for open justice in the UK.

“Letting the cameras into the courtroom to film the sentencings of some of the country’s most serious offenders will allow the public to see justice first hand, as it happens.

“Transparency in our criminal justice system is paramount for people being able to have confidence that justice is being properly served, and further helps the public understand the complexities of the decisions judges have to make regarding serious crimes.

“Sentencing hearings are absolutely in the public interest, they are perpetrator focussed, and I am really pleased to have seen this breakthrough today in the pursuit of open justice.”

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