Controversial sentencing reforms in UK

As detailed in articles here and here and here, prison overcrowding in the United Kingdom is leading to some controversial sentencing reform proposals across the pond:

Jail sentences for rapists are to be slashed under controversial new guidelines for judges revealed just days before an official campaign against rape is launched by the government.  In a move which critics warned would deter traumatised women from reporting sex crimes, the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC) is to recommend that future sentences for rape and other sexual offences be cut by 15 percent for most offenders.

The Observer can reveal that the council, an independent body advising the judiciary on how to interpret the law, will argue that men should serve shorter sentences because the prison regime is now 'more demanding'.

In a separate move, it is also expected to recommend shortly that men convicted of domestic violence could escape jail terms if they convince the courts they are capable of changing.  Instead they would be sent on courses in the community challenging their attitudes to women.

These moves would relieve pressure on Britain's overcrowded prisons.  But MPs and women's groups said they sent the wrong message about the crimes many women fear most, while victims could be dissuaded from the ordeal of testifying if they feared the result would only be a short sentence.