Government sets new penalties for offenders who refuse to attend sentencing hearings
By Mantle News
Coverage spectrum
Covered by 3 outlets, mostly center (67%).
3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias
According to the government, new rules to be laid before Parliament would let judges in England and Wales keep offenders who refuse to attend sentencing in their cells for up to 21 days, restrict their social visits or remove prison privileges. Prisons Minister Catherine McKinnell said refusing to attend sentencing is an insult to victims and their families. The measures, due to take effect next year, build on an existing law that orders offenders to attend or face a fine or a further two years in jail for contempt of court. The Ministry of Justice says no measure can guarantee attendance, but that the wider powers strengthen the consequences for skipping sentencing.
Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works
What happened
Key points
Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.
New rules would let judges in England and Wales keep offenders who refuse to attend sentencing in their cells for weeks.
Reported byLeft1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- Sky News, BBC News
The rules would also allow judges to remove prison privileges or restrict social visits for offenders who skip sentencing.
Reported byLeft1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- Sky News, BBC News
Prisons Minister Catherine McKinnell said refusing to attend sentencing is an insult to victims and their families.
Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News
The measures are due to take effect next year and build on an existing law requiring offenders to attend sentencing.
Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News
The rules are to be laid before Parliament on Thursday.
One outletThe Guardian· Left
How each side tells it
Compare views
All three outlets report that new rules would let judges in England and Wales confine offenders who skip sentencing to their cells or restrict their privileges and visits. The center outlets lead with penalties, while the Guardian headline frames the same measures as a loss of privileges.
the left
1 outlet
The headline frames the story as a loss of prison privileges under new rules, placing the government changes at the centre of the report.
Criminals who refuse to attend sentencing face losing prison privileges under new rules
The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines the center
2 outlets
Headlines lead with the penalties and the offenders, with one outlet calling them cowardly killers and the other using the plainer word criminals.
Criminals who skip sentencing will face solitary confinement or lose social visits
BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines the right
No coverage yet
No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
The words they chose
Language to notice
Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.
Left0
No loaded words in its own voice.
Center1
Cowardly
Right
Has not covered this story.
In the outlets’ own words
Loaded modifier
CowardlyMore neutral: Offenders who refuse
Calls the offenders cowardly, a judgement of character rather than a description of their refusal to attend.
Cowardly killers who refuse to attend sentencing will face new penalties
Used bySky News (Center)
See for yourself
Side by side
What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.
From the left
1 outletLeads with
- loss of prison privileges
- cell confinement for weeks
- wider powers for judges
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
- The GuardianLeft
Criminals who refuse to attend sentencing face losing prison privileges under new rules
England and Wales judges to be able to keep inmates in their cells for longer or stop visits if they refuse to face victims’ families in court Offenders who refuse to face their victims’ families in court for sentencing could be stripped of privileges or kept in cells for weeks …
From the center
2 outletsLeads with
- penalties for skipping sentencing
- cell confinement and lost visits
- new powers for judges
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
- BBC NewsCenter
Criminals who skip sentencing will face solitary confinement or lose social visits
Judges will be given new powers to impose tougher prison punishments on offenders who refuse to face their victims' families during sentencing.
- Sky NewsCenter
Loaded modifier“Cowardly”Calls the offenders cowardly, a judgement of character rather than a description of their refusal to attend.More neutral: Offenders who refuseDisagree with this highlight? killers who refuse to attend sentencing will face new penalties
Killers who refuse to attend sentence hearings could be confined to their cell for weeks or lose visiting privileges.
From the right
0 outletsNo right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?
The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.
Who reported it when
How the coverage built up
Left
15 hr 8 min later
Its first report, Oct 22, 3:54 AM EDT
Center
First to report
Sky News, Oct 21, 12:46 PM EDT
Right
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
- Sky NewsCenterOct 21, 12:46 PM EDT
- BBC NewsCenterOct 21, 9:17 PM EDT
- The GuardianLeftOct 22, 3:54 AM EDT
Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.
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