Court of Appeal Rejects Appeal to impose Whole-Life Tariff for Serious Sex Offender

A five Judge Court of Appeal, which included the Lord Chief Justice, have today handed down their judgment on the Attorney General’s reference to the Court of Appeal on the life sentence imposed on Joseph McCann. McCann was convicted in December 2019 of serious sex offences and received a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 30 years. The Attorney General’s referral to the Court of Appeal asked them to impose a whole life tariff so that McCann would never be released (a sentence that has never been previously imposed on cases other than murder). Jo Sidhu QC was instructed and successfully persuaded the Court of Appeal not to impose a whole life tariff on McCann. Instead, the Court of Appeal increased McCann’s tariff to 40 years.

The full judgment can be read here.