People who are found guilty of murder in England and Wales have to be given a ‘mandatory life sentence’. It’s called ‘custody for life’ for those aged 18-21 and ‘detention during Her Majesty’s pleasure’ for people under 18.
But apart from the most serious cases, that doesn’t mean life in prison.
Instead, most people have to serve a minimum term in prison, which is determined by the judge in court after they’re found guilty.
Once that term is over they can be considered for release on parole, if the Parole Board decides that it is safe to release an offender back into the community.
If the circumstances are serious enough, a ‘whole life order’ is imposed by a judge, meaning that the offender will never be released from prison and cannot be considered for parole. At the moment there are 59 prisoners serving whole life sentences in prison.