Poll: Should police killers automatically get whole-life sentences?

Wednesday 15 May 2013 10:43 BST

Home Secretary Theresa May (Getty Images)

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Home secretary Theresa May is due to announce today that criminals who kill a police officer should automatically face life in prison without parole.

Current sentencing guidlines only allow judges to impose full life tarrifs in the case of seriel killings, or killings with a sexual and/or sadistic motive. Just 47 people are currently serving life sentences without parole. Do you think killing a police officer should automatically rank among these crimes? Would this be an effective deterrent to a serious crime? Or is this merely a political stunt?

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Poll: Should police killers automatically get whole-life sentences?

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