Jimmy Boyle (artist) Jimmy Boyle (artist) James Boyle (born 17 May 1944) is a Scottish gangster and convicted murderer who became a sculptor and novelist after his release from prison. In 1967, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of another gangland figure, William "Babs" Rooney, but released after 14 years. He has always denied killing Rooney but has acknowledged having been a violent and sometimes ruthless moneylender from the Gorbals, one of the roughest areas of Glasgow. During his incarceration in the special unit of Barlinnie Prison, he turned to art and wrote an autobiography, "A Sense of Freedom" (1977),
Murder in English law any other case, a person convicted of murder must be sentenced to imprisonment for life. Since the abolition of capital punishment, murder has carried a mandatory life sentence in English law. this comprises three elements: The tariff sets the minimum time that must be spent in prison before an offender can be considered for parole. Following the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in "T v UK" and the consequent statutory change (enacted as Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 s 60), the judge must indicate in open court the appropriate tariff for an offender aged under