This book is a study of the workings of the Discretionary Lifer Panels of the Parole Board, the body charged with the responsibility for making decisions on the release of discretionary life sentence prisoners.

Introduction 1. The background 2. The view from Europe 3. Parliament and the government respond 4. Panels in practice 5. Release procedures compared 6. The spirit of Thynne and the reality 7. Lessons and conclusions

Nicola Padfield is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Cambridge, and has published widely on criminal law, sentencing and criminal justice. She sits as a Recorder in the Crown Court, and has been editor of Archbold News since 1996.