Yes but it is extremely rare life means life in this country. Sentencing of criminals in the UK is ridiculous...there is always uproar about how lenient punishment is. It is almost farcical. The law almost seems to be on the side of the criminal, a definite shake up of our judical system is needed.
I think the sentences handed out for the most appalling crimes, such as ones like this, which receive massive media attention, tend to be long. Not long enough for everyone to be satisfied, but I doubt anyone convicted of this crime would be out in less than 30 years, perhaps never.
It's when someone's life gets ruined by a random attack by a who beats them senseless for 'looking at them funny' and they get a few months or avoid jail entirely, is where the main problem lies.
Britain is becoming a very violent country. It's always been a bit nastier than the most other European countries, but it seems to be getting worse.
I would certainly be more inclined to vote for a party that made dealing with violent crime, from top to bottom, the central aspect of it's manifesto, rather than the economy. Violent crime should be treated very differently than non-violent crime.
If you seriously hurt someone physically, with violence, you should face a long time in jail. There should be no mitigating circumstances, other than self-defence. It has to be zero tolerance and I would count something like punching someone and breaking their nose, or glassing someone, as seriously hurting them.
Some will be calling for the killer of April to be beaten to death by a mob, but that just adds to the problem. Once you decide that violence is acceptable, under some circumstances, you just have to hope that people will make the right decisions, as in when to resort to violence.
And many of them won't. It's never the answer, anyway.