Human rights' plea to bin 'cruel' life sentences

HUMAN rights experts have called for lifelong sentences to be scrapped in Scottish courts because they risk "inhuman and degrading" treatment of the country's worst offenders.

- By Ben Borland

Orders for Lifelong Restriction (OLRs) were introduced by Scottish Labour under the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 for the most serious violent and sexual criminals.

Despite the name, they are not the same as lifetime sentences in England and Wales and prisoners can be released when the parole board decides they are no longer a risk to the public. There are 277 prisoners serving OLRs, with 224 having completed the punishment part and 14 freed to resume their lives on the outside. They were involved in crimes with a total of 1,600 victims.