Shabana Mahmood's intervention to suspend new sentencing guidelines has drawn severe criticism from legal experts and prison advocates. The Sentencing Council's guidelines were designed to ensure fair treatment considering age, sex, and ethnicity amidst a history of racial disparity in policing and sentencing. Activists argue that disregarding these measures ignores the lived experiences of marginalized groups. The guidelines had aimed to address the concerning two-tier justice system. Critics assert the intervention not only undermines efforts for racial equity but is a dangerous precedent in judicial fairness and equality.
"The lord chancellor's decision to block the Sentencing Council's guidance is a deliberate step backwards and the claim that recognizing race and inequality in sentencing undermines fairness is wrong."
"We have experienced racist two-tier policing for over 500 years. If we achieve equal treatment that is not two-tier as it is long overdue."
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