Sixty years ago this month acid bath murderer John Haigh was hanged in prison.

The death sentence he received at Lewes Crown Court for killing six people, two in Crawley, was the hallmark of the brutal “eye for an eye” clarity of the justice system of the time.

Politicians have long since deemed capital punishment uncivilised – and public opinion has moved, albeit more slowly, in the same direction.

But in recent years ever-changing sentencing policies and the pressures of prison overcrowding have created a court system seemingly based on the opposite of the cold logic that characterised the death penalty.

There have been repeated accusations that punishments fail to fit their crimes.

One running sore is the difference between the sentences handed down by the courts and the time prisoners actually serve.

Transparency

The charity Victims’ Voice campaigns for a bigger consideration of victims and their experiences when offenders are sentenced.

Trustee Ed Usher told The Argus the families of victims who have been killed know they cannot undo the past, but deserve greater clarity so they get a sense of justice.

He said many would be happier even if the stated prison term was shorter than under the current system, where headline sentences include time spent on licence after release.

He said: “When someone is found guilty there needs to be transparency over exactly what tariff they get.

“When someone is found guilty it is automatic that they get time off rather than serve the true sentence.

“At least if they were forced to serve it that would be some sort of justice in their eyes.

“The fact you get 40% or 50% of the time off means it is very difficult for the family to know what the true sentence is.”

The issue was brought into sharp focus at the weekend, when The Argus reported that hit-and-run death crash driver Jamie Filan was boasting about his holiday in Ibiza just 30 months after being given a five-year jail term.

An investigation is under way into whether he has breached the terms under which he was released on licence from prison in June – less than halfway through his sentence.

But the case sheds light on a system of sentencing which consistently provokes allegations of undue leniency from victims of crime and the public at large.

Everybody understands that most life sentences do not mean life.

The majority of lifers are released at or after the point where they have served a minimum tariff set by their trial judge.

Fewer may realise that for sentences of under four years release at the halfway stage is automatic, the idea being that a prisoner will serve half their sentence in the community.

Offenders have to obey conditions such as living at a specific address and submitting to probation service supervision, and may be banned from visiting certain areas or contacting the victims of their crimes.

If they breach the conditions or commit a further crime they can be immediately returned to prison to complete the full term.

For longer sentences the decision to release on licence is taken by a parole board or by the Home Secretary.

In virtually all cases this means that the sentence pronounced in court – which plays such an important role in reassuring the public that justice has been done – is more complicated than the headline figures.

The family of the woman Filan knocked down, Michelle Dever, were already angry that he was never prosecuted for causing her death, merely for failing to stop and for trying to cover up his role in the crash.

Her mother, Esther, 58, described the news Filan was claiming to be on holiday abroad well before the end of his five-year sentence as “unbelievable”.

She said: “He can come along and kill my daughter and he’s having a life of luxury.”

Frustration

When The Argus contacted Filan through his Facebook page we received a message back saying “i have served my sentence and done my time”.

It is this situation – where jail time is so much less than the full term of a sentence – that gives rise to feelings of frustration in the community.

Barrister Jason Sugarman, who will contest the Lewes seat for the Conservatives: “I can understand how appallingly distressing it must be for the family of a victim of a road accident like this to learn the person they thought was going to prison for five years is sunning themselves on a beach in Ibiza.”

He said a simpler, clearer sentencing policy was needed so the length of sentences reflected the time offenders serve in prison.

He said: “As a barrister I’d like to see a set of sentencing policies so people know life means life, ten years means ten years, so people can be certain.”

Sussex Police Authority member Ben Duncan said The Argus’s report touched on a number of issues affecting public confidence in the justice system.

He said victims of crime should play a bigger part in the process, particularly to show young offenders the effects of their actions, and conditions or restrictions on convicted criminals serving community sentences should be rigorously enforced.

A spokeswoman for the Probation Service said: “All offenders subject to probation supervision on release from prison have to adhere to strict conditions.

“They are subject to recall to custody if they breach their conditions or their behaviour indicates it is no longer safe to allow them to remain in the community.

Any claim an offender has breached their licence conditions is rigorously investigated.”