Section 23Part 2 — Punishments
Life imprisonment for second offence
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23. (1) This section applies where —
a person is convicted of a Category A offence committed after the 31st August, 2004; and
at the time when that offence was committed, that person was eighteen or over and had been convicted in the Islands of at least one other Category A offence.
Where a person is found guilty by a court of committing a Category A offence for the second time, the court may in its discretion sentence that person to imprisonment for life for that second offence.
When determining whether it would be appropriate not to impose a life sentence, the court shall have regard to the circumstances relating to either of the offences or to the offender.
“Category A offence” means an offence triable upon indictment. Penal Code (2026 Revision) Section 24 c Revised as at 31st December, 2025 Page 23