Life imprisonment and the Parole Act 2019: Assessing the impact of legislative reform

Abstract

This article examines the Parole Act 2019 and its likely impact on decision-making surrounding the release of life sentence prisoners in Ireland. The informal and political nature of the release process for life sentence prisoners has been the subject of considerable criticism. The Act will transition the release decision from the Minister for Justice and Equality to a statutory Parole Board. Drawing from national and supra-national sources as well as empirical data, the article analyses key provisions in the legislative framework including the independence of the Parole Board, the procedural standards and the criteria to be applied in individual cases.