http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3733034
David Barrett
"The sentence discount given to murderers who admit their crimes should be capped at a much lower level than proposed by the most senior judge in England and Wales, Home Secretary David Blunkett said today.
Discounts should only be given in very exceptional cases rather than across the board, to reflect the �heinous� nature of murder, he added.
Mr Blunkett was responding to proposals by the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC) � chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf � that murderers who plead guilty should get a reduction of one third of their sentence, or possibly even more if they showed �absolute candour�.
The Home Secretary said the length of time a convicted murderer spends in prison before becoming eligible for parole should only be reduced for a guilty plea in �limited circumstances where the plea has particular merit�."
