Appeals
If you are convicted of committing a crime in court, you have the right to appeal against your conviction, your sentence, or both.
If you lodge an appeal in the magistrates’ court, the case will be heard again in front of a judge and two magistrates.
If you choose to appeal against your sentence only, a Crown Court judge will consider your appeal and decide whether there are grounds to change the sentence. If not, it will remain the same.
In Crown Court, your appeal will be heard by the Court of Appeal. They will choose whether to order a retrial, keep the conviction the same, or quash the conviction so it no longer stands.
Parole
Parole is a legal process which grants prisoners release from custody before they have served their full sentence.
The factors which influence the decision to grant parole are:
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The details of the offence
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The behaviour of the offender in prison
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The offender’s intentions on release
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Their home circumstances
Offenders who are serving custodial sentences for crime committed on or after 4th April 2005 may only apply for parole if they are serving a public protection sentence or a life sentence.
The application for parole is made up of reports from prison and probation staff. In the decision process, you may be interviewed by a member of the Parole Board, and will have the opportunity to submit written statements to aid the application.
When the Parole Board has reached a decision, you will be notified of the outcome by post. You cannot appeal against the parole decision.
Spent Convictions
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, a ‘spent’ conviction is one which you no longer have to disclose because a specified amount of time has passed.
Normally, you have to disclose cautions or convictions when applying for a job, a job interview, a license, or insurance, but if the conviction is ‘spent’ it can no longer affect your application unless an exception applies.
In certain areas of work however, you will always have to disclose convictions and cautions. This includes work with children and vulnerable adults, work in law enforcement and the legal system, and work in senior financial roles.
You will also have to disclose all cautions and convictions if you apply for certain licenses and in some legal proceedings.
The rehabilitation ‘spent’ period will depend on the offence committed.