Baby P sentence 'defied the rules' - News - Evening Standard
       

Baby P sentence 'defied the rules'

THE judge in the Baby P case was today facing fresh controversy after it emerged that he cut the sentence handed to the child's mother in defiance of official guidelines.

In a decision which is now to be reviewed by the Attorney General, Judge Stephen Kramer reduced the minimum term that will be served by Baby P's mother by one sixth because she pleaded guilty at the start of her trial. That means that she could spend as little as five years behind bars and could be eligible for parole in just over three years.

But the discount given by the judge was significantly greater than the amount stipulated in official rules which state that offenders who plead guilty "at the door of the court" should only be rewarded with one tenth off their sentence.

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