New Penalties for Criminals Refusing Sentencing
Source reports published 22 Oct 2026, 7:30 am – 12:45 pm AEST
Criminals who skip sentencing hearings will face increased penalties including solitary confinement, restricted social visits, and loss of prison privileges. The measures aim to ensure offenders face justice and accountability.
What happened
- Judges in England and Wales will be granted stronger powers to restrict offenders’ access to prison visits and keep them confined to their cells for extended periods if they refuse to attend sentencing hearings.
- Existing laws already allow for fines and further imprisonment for contempt of court if criminals fail to appear.
- The Ministry of Justice states that criminals should not be able to ‘pick and choose’ when they face justice.
- The new measures could confine offenders to cells for up to three weeks, restrict social visits for nearly a month, and revoke privileges for almost three months.
- Restrictions on social visits could be limited to once every four weeks for almost three months.
- These sanctions apply to individuals like Thomas Cashman, who murdered Olivia Pratt-Korbel, and Kyle Clifford, who killed Stephen Wilding, and Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three young girls.
- The measures also apply to those removed from sentencing hearings for disruptive behaviour.
- Pia Sinha, CEO of the Prison Reform Trust, expressed concern that these sanctions will punish relatives of prisoners who have committed no offence.
- Claire Waxman, Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, emphasized the importance of consistent use of these powers by courts and prisons to ensure victims receive justice and accountability.
Original reporting
- BBC: Criminals who skip sentencing will face solitary confinement or lose social visits
2026-10-22T01:17:25.557000+00:00 - Sky News: Cowardly killers who refuse to attend sentencing will face new penalties
2026-10-21T21:30:00+00:00 - GB News: Murderers who refuse to appear in dock for sentencing hearings to face new penalties
2026-10-22T02:45:37+00:00