Life Sentences

This note explains when a sentence of life imprisonment may be imposed in England and Wales. In addition to the mandatory life sentence for murder, there are three other circumstances in which a court may impose a life sentence for offences. Unlike standard determinate prison sentences – whereby release is automatic at the halfway stage of the sentence (see our Explainer on prison sentences) – a person with a life sentence must serve a minimum term in full before release can be considered by the Parole Board. Release will only be granted where the Parole Board determine that the person does not pose an unacceptable risk to the public. Therefore, a person with a life sentence never has an automatic entitlement to be released from prison.

The mandatory life sentence for murder

A life sentence is the mandatory penalty for anyone convicted of murder in England and Wales (for persons under the age of 18 at the time of the offence, the sentence is detention during His Majesty’s pleasure, which is of similar effect). The majority of people given a life sentence in England and Wales have been convicted of murder. Our separate explainer on sentencing for murder gives more detailed information about mandatory life sentences.

In what circumstances can a life sentence be imposed other than for murder?

A life sentence may be imposed in three circumstances:

1. where someone is convicted of an offence with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and the dangerousness provisions of the Sentencing Act 2020 apply;
2. where the provisions under the Sentencing Act 2020 for an automatic life sentence apply (a life sentence for a second listed offence);
3. and a discretionary life sentence where a court considers one appropriate for an offence with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but where one of the two Sentencing Act 2020 provisions are not triggered.

Life sentences for dangerous offenders

A court may impose a life sentence if all the following criteria are met:

• a person is convicted of a ‘Schedule 19 offence’ (listed in Schedule 19 to the Sentencing Act 2020);
• and in the court’s opinion, the person poses a significant risk of serious harm to the public through the commission of further specified offences;¹
• and the maximum penalty for the offence is life imprisonment;
• and the court considers that the seriousness of the offence justifies the imposition of imprisonment for life.

When making this assessment, the court must take into account all information available about the nature and circumstances of the offence, and may take into account any previous convictions, whether the offending amounts to a pattern of behaviour, and any other information about the person which is before the court.

‘Significant risk’ has been interpreted by the courts to mean ‘a higher threshold than mere possibility of occurrence and in our view can be taken to mean (as in the Oxford Dictionary) ‘noteworthy, of considerable amount or importance’’.² ‘Serious harm’ is defined by s.306(2) of the Sentencing Act 2020 as death or serious personal injury, whether physical or psychological.

The assessment of the seriousness of the offence should consider: the seriousness of the offence itself, on its own or with other offences associated with it; the persons’ previous convictions; the level of danger to the public posed by the person and whether there is a reliable estimate of the length of time they will remain a danger; and the available alternative sentences.³

Life sentence for second listed offence

With the abolition of the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence in 2012, a new form of life sentence was introduced under section 224A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which is sometimes referred to as the ‘automatic life sentence’. This provision was subsequently replaced by sections 273 (for those aged 18-20) and 283 (for those aged 21+) of the Sentencing Act 2020.

No finding of dangerousness is necessary for this route of imposing a life sentence. However, in practice, the high threshold test for its imposition suggests that many such situated people could be considered dangerous. Unless it would be unjust to do so, the court must impose a life sentence where:

• the person is convicted of an offence listed in Part 1 of Schedule 15 of the Sentencing Act 2020 (a number of the most serious violent, sexual and terrorist offences);
• and the court would impose a sentence of imprisonment of 10 years or more for the offence;
• and the person has a previous conviction for a listed offence for which they received a life sentence with a minimum term of at least 5 years, or a custodial sentence of at least 10 years.

The pool of people to which this sentence will apply is likely to be small, as they must have served a substantial previous sentence for a very serious offence and must be sentenced for another very serious offence for which a substantial sentence is merited.

Discretionary life sentences

Although rarely used in practice, courts have the power to impose a discretionary life sentence on a person convicted of an offence where the maximum sentence is life imprisonment. They can do so even where the conditions for dangerous offenders or those convicted of a second listed offence have not been met. The two-stage test for a discretionary life sentence is that: (1) the person has been convicted of a very serious offence; and (2) there are good grounds for believing that the person may remain a serious danger to the public for a period that cannot be reliably estimated at the date of sentence.

Whilst most of these individuals will also meet the criteria for a life sentence for dangerous offenders under the provisions of the Sentencing Act 2020, it is possible that someone has committed a very serious offence and poses a serious danger to the public – but the offence for which they are to be sentenced is not a Schedule 19 offence. An example may be a person who has been convicted of repeated offences of very serious drug supplying (as drug supplying offences fall outside the scope of Schedule 19, but the most serious of these offences have a maximum sentence of life imprisonment).

Release and life licence

Irrespective of whichever form of life sentence a person is serving, release from prison can only be attained after the minimum term has been served in full. The Parole Board needs to be satisfied that the person’s imprisonment is no longer necessary for the protection of the public.

When considering whether a person is safe to be released, the Parole Board will take into account factors such as

• the circumstances of the offence(s),
• whether the person has sought to address any problems they may previously have had that might have contributed to committing the offence(s),
• the plans that have been put in place to manage the person in the community,
• and the relationship they have with the probation officer who will supervise them after release.

As the Parole Board states on its website: ‘If the panel decides that an offender should be released, this is not the same as saying that he or she now poses no risk. However, it may be that their risk has been reduced to a level where it is now small enough to be effectively managed in the community, and the panel will only recommend release if they feel this is the case.’⁴

Once released from prison, a person with a life sentence will remain on licence for the rest of their life. This means that they can be recalled to prison at any point in the future, should they breach their licence conditions or commit any further offences.

How commonly are life sentences imposed?

Compared to many other Western jurisdictions – particularly other European nations – life sentences are more commonly used in England and Wales. On 31 December 2024, there were 7,448 people in prison serving a sentence of life imprisonment.⁵ This represents approximately 9% of the total prison population.

1. A specified offence is any of the violent, sexual or terrorism offences listed in Schedule 18 to the Sentencing Act 2020. ↩︎
2. Lang [2005] EWCA Crim 2864 at [17]. ↩︎
3. Burinskas [2014] EWCA Crim 334. ↩︎
4. Parole Board, How we make our decisions, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-we-make-our-decisions. ↩︎
5. Ministry of Justice (2025) Offender Management Statistics quarterly: July to September 2024, Prison Population: 31 December 2024, Table 1.9a. There were an additional 1,045 people serving indeterminate sentences (the now-abolished Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence). ↩︎