And my point is that ‘independent bodies’ - juries, as suggested by Dick - have no influence on the sentence handed down to a convicted offender, that is the judge’s responsibility guided, informed, and limited by statute. Thank goodness too - I find the concept of an unqualified jury being involved in the setting of sentences, and thus making the possibility of Daily Mail justice even more likely, very worrying indeed.

If, by ‘independent bodies’, you mean a panel of suitably professionally-qualified individuals whose responsibility is to make decisions on sentencing based on the offender’s past record, behaviour whilst detained, response to education/treatment, etc., don’t we already have that very thing in the form of parole-boards?