ABSTRACT
As a result of recent changes in sentencing and paroling practices (including the incremental extension of the life sentence, the increasing number of life sentences and the phenomenon of the ‘natural life’ sentence for certain prisoners), the number of prisoners over state retirement age has, over the past ten years, increased significantly on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, the relatively recent determination to pursue ‘historic’ (usually sexual) offences has been a significant contributor to the increasing numbers of men serving a first prison sentence late in life.
