Huhne and Pryce Jailed for Perverting the Course of Justice

Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce have been jailed for eight months each for perverting the course of justice.

The pair were jailed after she took driving licence penalty points for him after he was caught speeding near Stansted in 2003.

Huhne had previously pleaded guilty to the offence just before his trial began. He was given a 10% discount off his sentence for his plea of guilty. Otherwise he would have been sentenced to nine months.

Pryce, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed the defence of marital coercion, arguing that Huhne forced her to accept the points on his behalf. The jury at her first trial were unable to make a decision but a second jury found her guilty after twelve hours of deliberations.

The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, told the pair that the only good that had come out of the process was that they had now both been brought to justice for their joint offence. He told them that ‘[a]ny element of tragedy is entirely your own fault’. He said that Huhne had lied ‘again and again’ and had fallen from a ‘great height’. The judge described Pryce as ‘controlling, manipulative and devious’ but said that Huhne was ‘more culpable’ for the offence.

Huhne and Pryce were told by the judge that they would serve half of their eight-month sentences, unless they were released earlier under supervision.

Meanwhile, the CPS has said that the cost of Huhne’s prosecution was £79,015 and Pryce’s was £38,544, totalling £117,558. It is seeking to reclaim those costs. The CPS is also seeking to recover a further £31,000 from Huhne for costs resulting from his attempt to have the case stopped.

For the original article on this case, see this article.

For discussion of Ms Pryce’s first trial and the issues surrounding the jury, see this article.

For the article on Ms Pryce’s conviction, see this article.

Some Notes on Sentencing

It is common practice for defendants who plead guilty to be given a ‘discount’ on their sentence. This is to reflect that a guilty plea prevents witnesses from having to go through the stressful experience of giving evidence and that a guilty plea saves the need for a costly trial. When a defendant pleads guilty at the earliest opportunity they can be given one third off of their sentence. When a defendant pleads guilty after the trial date is set they can be given up to one quarter off of their sentence. If a defendant pleads guilty just before the start of a trial (as Huhne did) or after the trial has started they can be given up to a tenth off of their sentence.

Most prisoners are eligible for release after serving one half of their sentence. But this depends on the circumstances. Some prisoners are also eligible to be released before they have served one half of their sentence, and will be subject to a curfew and electronic monitoring (known as ‘tagging’). Again, this depends on the circumstances.

What do you think of the sentences? Were they too long? Alternatively, do you think they were too short?