The British Government said it will force offenders to either face their victims or their families in court or spend two extra years in prison. “It is unacceptable that some of the country’s most horrendous criminals have refused to face their victims in court. They cannot and should not be allowed to take the coward’s way out,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. This decision is part of a new reform that aims to make sentencing tougher for the most horrifying killings, leading to significant changes in the U.K.'s legal system.
Populist garbage.
Sentencing already reflects the behaviour of the defendant subsequent to the crime, so that they can get a hefty discount the sooner they plead guilty, whereas if they constantly do things that frustrate the whole process they can see the upper end of what is an allowable sentence. Refusing to appear in court, whether as a defendant or as a convict awaiting sentence makes no difference to the process.