Some crimes are so horrific they attract the harshest punishment possible: a sentence that means the guilty will die behind bars.
From 'the Crossbow Cannibal' to Moors murderer Myra Hindley, journalist Julian Druker explores the cases of eight criminals with whole life orders and asks what this means for the criminals and society.
Told through archive news coverage of these crimes, this series explores the judicial and sentencing processes, as well as the legal, ethical and political dimensions of whole life orders.
We chart the evolution of these whole life sentences from the 1980s to the present day, and explore how politicians' desire to appear 'tough on crime' has resulted in an increase of the UK prison population.
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(Audible Original, 7 April 2020, 3 hours 35 minutes, @audibleuk Original Podcast, free with membership, presented by @Julian5News)
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I've become quite a fan of true crime audiobooks over the last couple of years and I was really looking forward to this. This is an enjoyable podcast, well thought out, well researched and well presented. The focus isn't just on the terrible crimes recounted such as the Moors Murders but the justice system in general. The podcasts feature a range of interviews and discussions with experts such as psychologists and criminal lawyers who analyse the crimes, the social world of the time the crimes were committed in and whether or not a whole of life sentence should be handed out. Very thought-provoking.