Rejected petition: Require offenders convicted of child rape to serve their full custodial sentence
Rejected on
I ask the government to amend the law so that offenders convicted of the rape of a child are not eligible for automatic or emergency release and must serve their full custodial sentence imposed by the court before release.
This petition asks the government to change the law so that offenders convicted of the rape of a child are not eligible for automatic or emergency early release. They should instead serve the full custodial sentence imposed by the court before they can be released.
Why was this petition rejected?
We can't publish petitions when the request is something that's already happening or something that has been announced since you started your petition.
We think your petition is covered by Government or Parliament action already. If you'd like something else, you could start a new petition clearly explaining what it is.
It is already the case that such offenders are excluded from early release provisions, whether those that preceded the current Government's early release scheme or those which are part of that scheme.
The Government recently published a full list of such exclusions.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sentencing-act-offence-exclusionsUnder previous legislation such offenders as you refer to are required to serve their full sentence:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sentencing-bill-2023/sentencing-bill-factsheet-serious-sexual-offences-sentencing-and-release-arrangementsWe only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.