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<p>The Unduly Lenient Scheme allows the Law Officers to refer sentences passed for
the most serious criminal offences to the Court of Appeal for review. The Court of
Appeal has the power to increase a sentence on referral in the rare cases where the
sentencing judge has fallen into gross error and imposed a sentence which is outside
the reasonable range. This is an important mechanism in our criminal justice system
to ensure that such sentences are commensurate with the seriousness of the offending
and give the victims of crime confidence that justice will be served.</p><p> </p><p>In
the course of this year the Law Officers have successfully referred sentences for
a variety of offences including controlling and coercive behaviour, rape of a child,
rape, kidnapping and robbery. Earlier this year, the Attorney General successfully
argued in person before the Court of Appeal that the sentence imposed on Stephen Gibbs
for the attempted murder of his ex-partner was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal
increased his sentence from 13 years’ imprisonment with a licence extension of 5 years
to 20 years and 7 months’ imprisonment with a licence extension of 5 years.</p>
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