Some crimes are so horrific they attract the harshest punishment possible: a sentence that means the guilty will die behind bars.

From ‘the Crossbow Cannibal’ to Moors murderer Myra Hindley, journalist Julian Druker explores the cases of eight criminals with whole life orders and asks what this means for the criminals and society.

Told through archive news coverage of these crimes, this series explores the judicial and sentencing processes, as well as the legal, ethical and political dimensions of whole life orders.

We chart the evolution of these whole life sentences from the 1980s to the present day, and explore how politicians’ desire to appear ‘tough on crime’ has resulted in an increase of the UK prison population.

An ITN production for Audible Originals.

This is an Audible Original Podcast. Free for members. You can download all 8 episodes to your Library now.